The Environment Agency has trained “over 100 staff” to spot signs of modern slavery in the waste sector, in response to statistics which showed that around two-thirds of victims have worked in the industry.
The agency said the training increase was in response to ‘concerning’ statistics from the Hope for Justice charity
The Agency made the announcement earlier today (October 18) adding that it is “committed” to working with police and enforcement agencies to eradicate modern-day slavery from the recycling industry.
Officers have been instructed to look for common signs of exploitation including an extreme fear of authorities, signs of physical or psychological trauma including anxiety or malnourishment, and evidence suggesting workers may be living on site.
Commenting on the training Marie Fallon, director of regulated industry at the Environment Agency said the numbers of those involved is “concerning”.
“Whilst the majority of the waste businesses we regulate are well run, there are a concerning number of operators who delve into criminal practices which harm the environment, local communities and their own workforce,” she said.
Ms Fallon added: “Our work with Help for Justice has given our officers the skills to understand the signs of modern slavery which can add value to the work of the police, partners and local authorities who collectively are working to stamp it out.”
Textiles
The issue of modern slavery has been seen recently in the textiles field, where material can have a high value.
Earlier this year, Northumbria Police rescued dozens of slaves from who were believed to have been trafficked into the UK to collect donated clothes from households (see letsrecycle.com story).
Agency officers have been trained on what to look out for (Pictured: a raid by the police on suspescted traffickers)
This particular case saw the business buy in thousands of charity bags from abroad before distributing them to their workers who will hand them out to the public.
The clothing from the collected bags is then sold abroad and the company take a cut of the money, and the charities involved would be completely unaware that many of the employees are potentially slavery victims.
Charity
Latest figures from anti-slavery charity, Hope for Justice, show that two-thirds of victims are reported to have worked within the waste industry.
The charity has run many campaigns to try and raise awareness of the issue and help people spot potential ‘slaves’.
Sara Squires, UK training manager at Hope for Justice, said: “It is fantastic to see such strong backing for these efforts from the Environment Agency. I know from first-hand experience that good-quality training leads to an improved response. More than half of referrals to Hope for Justice of potential victims of modern slavery come from organisations we have trained, and many of those referrals lead directly to rescues.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com General
