London,
15
March
2011
|
23:00
Europe/London

Hackney’s streets the cleanest yet, says waste charity

Hackney’s streets are the cleanest they have ever been, says national anti litter charity Keep Britain Tidy.

For the past eight years Keep Britain Tidy has monitored litter, debris, graffiti and fly posting around the borough, and issued Hackney Council with the results in a survey taken three times a year.

The surveys show that Hackney has improved significantly each year, tackling litter and detritus initially and then getting to grips with graffiti and fly-posting quickly and efficiently.

In 2009/10 Hackney achieved the target set by the Government and the 2010/11 results are the best yet.

Welcoming the news, Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said:

“Officers work hard to ensure that areas are cleared as soon as they are located or are reported by members of the public, so I am pleased to see that these efforts are being reflected in the Keep Britain Tidy survey. We have also spent time communicating with residents on the need for us all to be responsible for our own waste.

“Flytipping creates an illegal health hazard, which can be dangerous. By using litter bins or household waste and recycling centres, we not only prevent this risk, but can also cut back on the huge clean up cost that our taxpayers have to pay due to improper waste disposal.”

Helen Bingham from Keep Britain Tidy said: ‘We know that the public cares passionately about the quality of their local environment and value the street cleansing service that local authorities provide.

"We are delighted that Hackney Council has seen consistent improvements in street cleansing and the fact that it can point to this success illustrates the importance and usefulness of monitoring of local environmental quality."

Ends

Notes to editors

For more information contact Susie Haywood, Hackney Council press office, 020 8356 2869.

Keep Britain Tidy - http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/

Bulky waste: Hackney Council offers a free removal service for bulky waste like fridges, cookers and furniture. The Council will remove up to five items per collection and will make up to four collections per household each year.

There is also a free unlimited reuse collections for specific items suitable for reuse through our partnership with Homestore.

Order your bulky waste collection online http://reddot.hackney.gov.uk/ew-household-waste-special-collection-for-large-items-528.htm# or call the Hackney Wasteline on 020 8356 6688 to arrange a bulky waste collection.

Reuse collections: Old furniture is being given a new lease of life, thanks to a project funded by the council and run by Homestore. This offers low-income households a chance to furnish their homes without getting into debt.

To arrange a collection you can call Homestore directly on 020 8519 6264

Large quantities of waste: If you have larger quantities of waste to dispose of, you must arrange for this to be collected by a private contractor or call Hackney Commercial Waste Service on 020 8356 6683.

The surveys have been undertaken three times a year and the results have comprised Hackney’s official statistics for national monitoring requirements for the Government.

NI 195 Annual results

Year
Score (% unacceptably clean)


Litter
Detritus
Graffiti
Flyposting

2007/08
17
15
11
3

2008/09
11
14
18
8

2009/10
6
12
10
3

2010/11
5
7
5
1