Recycling staff shoved, lunged at and threatened

Staff at recycling centres across Essex were shoved, lunged at and threatened by abusive customers, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

Pitsea saw the majority of incidents, with others logged by Essex County Council at sites in Clacton-on-Sea, Witham and Saffron Walden.

The data was obtained by the BBC after one member of staff said they felt "very, very depressed and very, very angry" about the abuse.

Peter Schwier, the council's climate czar, said there was "no excuse for this sort of behaviour".

Council data showed there were 12 incidents of abuse reported by staff between January and June.

However, a further 24 incidents were reported to County Hall in the final six months of the year.

They included a customer being aggressive and swearing at staff in Dovercourt, as well as a member of the public lunging at an employee in Harlow.

There were seven incidents of concern recorded in Pitsea this year, with six in Clacton-on-Sea, five in both Witham and Dovercourt and four in Saffron Walden.

Staff also reported verbal abuse in Mountnessing, Chelmsford, South Woodham Ferrers and Canvey Island.

Mr Schwier, a Conservative councillor, said: "It is not acceptable to verbally abuse and threaten anyone, especially when our employees are just trying to do their job.

"We will investigate all reported incidents of abuse and ensure they are dealt with in an appropriate manner."

The council appealed for people to respect its recycling centre workers in a campaign in November.

It came 20 months after County Hall rolled out new rules requiring people to book a slot before they visited recycling centres.

Speaking at the time, Louis Stanley, a manager at one of the sites, said he found the abuse "really upsetting".

"I'm being called all of these names... I wouldn't dream of doing that to somebody who offended me, let alone to somebody who is trying to help me," he said.

Other employees referenced being told "I hope your mum dies and facing obscene profanity".

One added: "It made me feel vulnerable, worried about my safety, my family's safety."

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