Written by Dear Ward Councillor / Resident Association Chairman / Member,
Download the SWAT leaflet (click above)
Resident satisfaction with our waste collection and street cleansing services remains exceptionally high at 87% and 84% but we are aware of the frustration you feel about the rubbish dumping problems that blight some of our streets. The local City Inspectors are continuing to issue fly-tipping fines in record numbers but this is not achieving the desired long-term change. This in part seems to be due to a widespread lack of awareness on how and when to dispose of rubbish and recycling bags, particularly amongst new or short-term residents.
As part of the #mywestminster programme recently announced by the Leader of the Council, we are therefore forming a new Street Waste Action Team (SWAT) to tackle these problems. The key objectives for the team are:
- To substantially reduce rubbish dumping on your streets;
- To ensure all residents are aware of how and when to dispose of their rubbish and recycling;
- To ensure residents understand the best ways to report problems to us so they can be tackled quickly and effectively.
The new team will continue to issue fly-tipping fines as appropriate but achieving permanent behavioural change will be more important.
We would also like the community to help design the campaign, using resident messages on posters and other campaign materials, and deciding how the new team would be best deployed to tackle the most important issues. We intend to have a highly visible presence on the streets with a particular focus on the early morning and evening periods when much of the dumping seems to happen. We expect the team to be in your area for at least 4-6 weeks (from around Monday 19th March 2018) but we will learn lessons as we go to ensure we achieve a noticeable difference to the street scene.
I hope you will give the campaign your active support. To help us gather information on the biggest issues and hotspot locations it would be much appreciated if you could fill out the online survey. It should take no more than 5 minutes and will be hugely valuable to us. Please also circulate to your friends and neighbours.
If there is sufficient interest we will also be holding a public meeting to discuss the campaign. The survey includes a question asking if you would be interested in attending.
Thank you.
Report It
You can now report missed collections and dumped rubbish via our website
www.westminster.gov.uk/report-it.
Don’t forget if you live in a property where you use recycling bags you can now order them online as well: www.westminster.gov.uk/recycling-bags.