HUMAN RESOURCES

Grime and punishment: cleaning up Christmas

Anne Marie Scott, director of human resources at Oxford Direct Services (ODS) talks about how the behind-the-scene heroes are recruited, retained and rewarded for the huge annual post-Christmas challenge.

Were you one of the thousands of viewers who caught the behind-the-scenes Channel 5 documentary Cleaning up Christmas: Grime and Punishment earlier last month? Delving ‘behind the scenes' to see exactly how the Great British Christmas clean-up happens, it was a gripping, touching and occasionally stomach-churning look at what goes on – including footage of our wonderful colleagues here in Oxford at work.

Did you know that as a nation we pour enough fat down the drain on Christmas Day to fill an Olympic size swimming pool? Although it should really be poured into a plastic bottle and placed within a food caddy – it probably won't surprise you to hear that not everyone does this. And until we all do, someone else has the job of cleaning out the affected drains.

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