Modern Slavery Statement — Council Rubbish Collection

Our Council Rubbish Collection operations are committed to upholding human rights and eliminating forced labour across the municipal rubbish collection supply chain. We set a clear expectation that everyone who works for or with our local council rubbish collection services must be treated fairly, with dignity and respect. This statement explains our policies, actions and ongoing commitments to reduce the risk of modern slavery in council waste collection and associated services.

We operate a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of modern slavery, including forced labour, human trafficking and debt bondage in any part of our council refuse collection activities. That policy applies to our employees, contracted workers and subcontractors providing council waste collection, street cleansing and related municipal services. Any credible allegation will lead to immediate investigation and proportionate action, up to termination of contracts and referral to the appropriate authorities.

Policies, Contract Terms and Supplier Requirements

We embed anti-slavery provisions into procurement documents, and every supplier to our council refuse collection program must certify compliance with our standards. Our procurement terms include mandatory clauses that require suppliers to declare labour practices, provide evidence of worker protections and allow inspection. We maintain a formal procurement policy for council waste collection that is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect evolving legal standards and best practices.

Supplier due diligence in our municipal rubbish collection network includes pre-award checks and ongoing monitoring. We conduct risk-based assessments covering geographic risk, labour intensity, subcontracting layers and sector vulnerabilities. Where risk is identified we require corrective action plans and may withhold new awards until remedial steps are completed. Key due diligence steps include:

• Verification of payroll and working hour records for crew and contract staff;
• Review of recruitment practices to prevent deceptive or fee-based hiring;
• Checks on subcontractors used in the council waste collection supply chain.

Supplier Audits and Monitoring

We operate a programme of supplier audits for high-risk providers of local council rubbish collection services. Audits are a mix of desktop reviews and on-site inspections conducted by our compliance team or independent auditors. Audit findings are documented and accompanied by required corrective actions with clear deadlines. We treat severe breaches as grounds for contract suspension or termination, and we will not tolerate exploitation within any part of our municipal waste services.

Reporting channels are available to everyone involved in the council refuse collection ecosystem. Staff, contractors and members of the public can raise concerns through multiple confidential mechanisms. We promote whistleblowing protections and ensure that reports are taken seriously, investigated promptly and handled with confidentiality. Our reporting options include internally managed hotlines and secure electronic reporting tools that preserve anonymity where requested.

We encourage early reporting of suspected slavery or labour abuse. All allegations are triaged by a specialist team, assessed for immediate risk to any individuals and escalated as necessary. When investigations identify labour exploitation we will cooperate with remediation partners, law enforcement and statutory agencies, and pursue civil or contractual remedies against responsible parties. Our approach is victim-centred, prioritising safety and access to support.

Training for our workforce and for contractors in the council waste collection sector is mandatory for staff in procurement, contract management and frontline operations. Training includes recognition of modern slavery indicators, correct use of reporting channels and the obligations embedded in council waste collection contracts. We also require suppliers to provide equivalent training to the staff who work on your municipal rubbish collection services under their control.

We will continue to invest in supplier engagement, audit capacity and remediation resources to strengthen our overall compliance framework. Our continuous improvement approach seeks to reduce risk across the entire council refuse collection supply chain, including recruitment intermediaries and seasonal labour segments that can be vulnerable to exploitation.

As part of our governance, this Modern Slavery Statement for council rubbish collection will be reviewed annually to assess effectiveness, update risk mapping and publish any significant remediation actions or policy changes. The review will include audit outcomes, training metrics, reports received through our reporting channels and any contractual changes required to maintain a zero tolerance approach to modern slavery in local council rubbish collection activities.