Due to the refund incentive, containers can be a target for thieves. Ensure that your containers — whether on your site, at a pop-up site, bag drop, commercial location, or at an event — are kept secure.
See the checklist below:
Secure your bins
- Access to containers – can people steal bags or bins from your site?
- How are your bins secured to their location and can they be removed easily?
- Are they locked to a fence, pole, or something immoveable?
Pick-ups
- How do your commercial partners and community know it’s your staff collecting the containers and not someone else?
- Do you staff wear shirts with logos or carry a staff ID?
- Do your customers know your process so they can identify your staff?
CCTV
- Review the need for CCTV on your site. If you have CCTV, is it correctly located to clearly view high risk areas?
- Do you have signage indicating there are cameras installed on site?
- Make sure you have hard drives to capture and store footage.
Alarms
- Do you have alarms on your properties?
- Ensure that supervisors have procedures to call police and/or security services if there is a site breach.
Cash handling and storage
- Review how cash is kept on site and how is it secured (safes or armoured vehicle drop off).
- Review when and how cash is moved around site and to and from banks, or other sites.
- Do you have signage to indicate that no cash is left on site? How about on mobile sites where is the cash kept and secured?
Other
- Ensure perimeter fencing is in place and regularly inspect for breaches or damages to the fence line (add it to your housekeeping inspection checklist).
- Be aware of suspicious activity – some RPOs are recording customer details on their counting slips as a record of who has been on site.
- Have procedures and training for robberies or staff being approached (this should be the CODE BLACK in the Emergency Response Plan). Make sure these also take into account your mobile sites.