In their words

As the city’s refuse, recycling and street cleansing company, we visit every home. Clean every street. Every day we strive make resident’s lives cleaner, safer, better.

“We believe all our staff have the right to work without fear of discrimination. We will not tolerate abuse, we will challenge it and we will report it.” said Tony Lawless, Managing Director, Bristol Waste

He continues; “Standing up to racism is not just important to us, it is essential. Some of the events that took place across the world, and in our city, last year prompted more conversations. As a company we were saddened to hear about the experiences of some of our black colleagues, who told us that racism can still be a part of their everyday lives, but thankful that space had been opened up for us to talk about it.”

“We hope this film makes people think and helps create a better, kinder, more tolerant city.”

This short film was made in collaboration with our Diversity & Inclusion Working Group. It was led by the staff, is in their own words, and aims to highlight some of the issues they face.

Bryan Green, Driver Loader, who features in the short film said:

I hope it opens up people’s eyes to what is happening, so they can understand what we go through and how it feels.

Reece Ward, Recycling Operative, who also features, said:

I was nervous and wasn’t sure how it would come across. Once the filming started though, it was like having a conversation, being able to voice our concerns and opinions.

I hope this film shows people that, especially in 2021, racism isn’t acceptable. I hope it opens people’s eyes that racism hasn’t gone away. It’s still a massive issue and it shouldn’t be swept under the carpet.

What else are we doing?

As a company, we work hard to ensure diversity and inclusion is at the heart of the business. We have signed the Bristol Equalities Charter and want to ensure the pledges we made are making a difference.

Our Diversity & Inclusion Group work with the company to review our policies, and with our staff to educate and support them in challenging racism whenever they see it. We are rolling out a new training programme for every single staff member and have refreshed our Diversity & Inclusion Policy.