Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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No doubt if you saw the news footage this week of the 18,000 tonne mountain of rubbish that for the past seven years has blighted residents’ lives in St Paul’s Cray, Kent (and probably surrounding areas when the wind was blowing in the wrong direction!), you’ll have been as horrified as I was.
My first thought was for the poor people who’ve had to put up with the stinking, smouldering mound near their homes and workplaces and my second was an incredulous ‘how on earth were those that created it, allowed to get away with leaving it (and adding to it) for so long?’ We’re meant to live in a civilised society but I do wonder sometimes…
The Environment Agency and Bromley Council have finally started to clear the heap, in what is estimated will be a 20-week operation costing some £2.7m. The Veolia representative I saw interviewed said that the waste would be sorted as far as it could be, with everything recyclable salvaged and the rest going to landfill.
When I saw the clear up operation get underway it reminded me of the appalling conditions some of those involved in cleaning have to endure for their jobs. I would hate to be the person who has to sort through that lot, which has already been sorted through by the local rat population, flies, bluebottles and other pests. I can think of some people who perhaps ought to be put to work doing it though…
Reading of the ills suffered by cleaners – this time in a report that’s just been issued on musculoskeletal disorders in 10 European countries, (see below) made me realise that it’s not just the really dirty work that causes health issues for this valuable workforce of ours.
Do you say hello to cleaners you encounter whilst going about your daily business? Do you thank them for their efforts?
I certainly do and if you don’t already, why not start today? They certainly deserve a lot more recognition than they currently get, from those of us who benefit from their services (i.e. all of us).
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Yours,
3rd November 2016