Whilst walking back from Epsom town centre this week, carefully avoiding puddles - not worried about getting my boots wet but aware that said puddles could be camouflaging potholes into which I might stumble and wrench an ankle or worse - I was thinking how soul-destroying it must get sometimes for those whose job it is to personally maintain our towns, villages and public spaces… Not just the dodgy surfaces and having to effect repairs that they know won’t last for as long as they ought, (whilst often being tutted at - or worse - by those stuck in traffic or pavement jams created as they work) but the litter that just never stops accumulating however hard they try to keep it clear.   

  

I’ve long struggled to get my head around pay structures. Why do those who’ve achieved the roles so many aspire to - becoming sports or film stars, TV or radio presenters and enjoying the lifestyle, travel etc that they bring, earn so much more than those doing what are effectively far more important jobs such as cleaning our streets and public buildings? It really should be massively evened out, don’t you think, to make things more fair?  

    

It's at this time of year, when snuggled in my bed, it’s pitch black outside and I’m woken by the sound of boxes of glass bottles and jars being emptied into the recycling truck, that – far from being cross at being woken – I realise how lucky I am not to be outside in the dark and pouring rain/freezing cold, sorting other people’s waste for what is, effectively, a pittance?   

  

A press release this week from the Health & Safety Executive, plus news of yet another person dying in a waste bin, really brings it home. Headed ‘Rough sleepers in bins’, it describes how serious - and potentially fatal - risks are posed by rough sleepers who seek shelter in large commercial or communal waste bins and may be inadvertently tipped into waste collection trucks. It outlines control measures for businesses that manage commercial bins and storage areas, and those who collect the waste. As well as the guidance one might expect to see in such a document: focus on reducing the likelihood of people getting inside the bins and incorporate bin inspection into health & safety risk assessments - especially during colder months when rough sleepers are more likely to seek shelter - it includes advice for collection services to check that nobody is inside the bin before it’s emptied, along with a section on what you should do if you encounter someone in a bin. Danger money needed perhaps, and/or trauma counselling for the unlucky few? Our waste collectors have a far harder job than many of us realise, and I hope you’ll join me in greeting & thanking them whenever your paths cross.