General Article Bin death study launched

Topic Selected: Homelessness
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The Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIMW) will call on bin collection companies across the UK to help it tackle the problem of homeless people dying in bins where they have taken shelter while rough sleeping.

Launching a new partnership with waste and recycling company Biffa and StreetLink, a helpline for the public to report rough sleepers to local services, the CIWM said it would be gathering data to provide a more accurate assessment of the problem.

It is understood that all bin collection companies will be asked to fill in a questionnaire, which will ask them to detail so-called ‘near misses’ and give details of experiences of finding rough sleepers in the bins they have collected. It is anticipated that an awareness campaign for rough sleepers will be developed, based on the research.

CIWM president John Skidmore said: ‘There is clearly an issue with rough sleepers in the UK, and we are particularly concerned by those that end up sleeping in waste bins.

‘We’re seek...

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