Refuse and recycling collection vehicles in Sandwell will be proudly showing support for our Armed Forces past and present this November.
Sandwell’s waste management partner Serco has made a donation to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and will display poppies on a number of waste collection lorries.
Serco, who employ thousands of veterans as well as many army reservists and adult cadet instructors in the UK, are signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant.
Serco was one of the early signatories to what was then the ‘Corporate Covenant’ in 2013. Two years later, the company was one of the first achievers of the coveted ‘Gold Award’ under the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) Employer Recognition Scheme for its outstanding support and commitment to the Armed Forces.
Richard Langford (pictured), supervisor at Serco, was an Army regular and reservist for more than 16 years and says, “Serco were always very supportive to my outside reservist commitments and I’m really proud to see the poppies fitted to the wagons as I first started with the company driving on the bin rounds, a licence I actually obtained via the Army.”
Tony Marston, Senior Contract Manager at Serco, said, “Our waste collection and recycling vehicles are a great way for the Waste Partnership to show our support for the Poppy Appeal this year.
As someone with a non-military background but who has worked in the Police for many years, I am a firm ally of the people who make up our armed forces. Serco have recently launched a colleague network to bring belonging and support to the forces community we have in Serco.
We want to foster a positive culture towards those current and ex-service personnel as we value the skills and experience they bring to delivering our services to the residents of Sandwell.”
Danny Millard, cabinet member for environment, said: "The poppy has been the symbol of Remembrance for over 100 years and, as the waste vehicles travel all parts of the borough, I hope they will encourage people to perhaps take a moment themselves to reflect on the sacrifices and service of our Armed Forces past and present and to consider buying and wearing a poppy themselves."