B&M launch winter ‘Refuse not Refuge’ campaign

This month B&M Waste Services are once again launching their Refuse not refuge winter campaign. B&M Waste pride themselves on putting safety at the forefront of everything they do and this campaign draws attention to an issue with is important to us as a responsible business.

With the winter fast approaching, closely coupled with the Christmas party season, we at B&M Waste Services are upping our campaign to reduce the number of people seeking refuse in waste containers with our ‘Refuse not Refuge’ campaign.

Working in partnership with Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity we launched our ‘Refuse not Refuge’ campaign in the winter of 2013/14.

People who sleep rough have difficult choices to make, and sheltering in a bin can seem like a safe, dry place to spend the night. However, when the bin is emptied, all too often people are still inside and their lives become immediately at risk. Unfortunately, there have been a number of tragedies in the industry where people have been injured and even killed after sleeping in a bin.

B&M Waste Services operate a rigorous staff training and refresher programme to act as a constant reminder to our drivers to check each and every container before it is emptied. Also, as part of the campaign we ensure all our largest bins are stickered up clearly with our poster below.

David Curtis, Director at B&M Waste Services commented “A recent study conducted in partnership with Streetlink indicated that it’s not only homeless people but also drunken students and party goers who sleep in bins, a massive 11%. This is why we are working with our customers, particularly Universities, Colleges and Retail Parks to apply best practice in reducing this risk through raising awareness of the problem.

B&M are now looking to partner with customers in the area to raise awareness of the danger of sleeping in a waste container. At the end of the night when the funds have dried up and transport home is not an option, it is absolutely crucial NOT to choose a waste container to sleep in.

B&M customers are being asked to assist in raising awareness by displaying our posters around their site and mentioning the campaign on social media tagging @bagnallmorris and #refusenotrefuge

B&M encourage all customers interested in reducing this risk to contact them on 0808 100 2434 and speak to their account manager for further information or to receive your posters.