Croydon takes clean streets campaign to next level

Don’t Mess With Croydon (DMWC) – the hard-hitting campaign to clean up Croydon’s streets by cracking down on enviro-crime – is set to continue with a raft of new measures to keep the borough tidy.

A cabinet report published this week highlights successes to date and pledges to continue the tough approach, while unveiling more initiatives encouraging everyone to take responsibility for their waste and pride in their borough.

Launched by Croydon Council in 2014, DMWC involves taking a tough stance against fly-tippers and litterers who blight the borough by dumping rubbish illegally – and has won both the support of residents and national recognition with its approach.

Highlights of the campaign include 80% of fly-tips now removed in 48 hours (as opposed to just 3% prior to 2014); a new smartphone app for reporting fly-tips; recruitment of 317 street champions and 127 monthly clean-ups.

The council has also issued more than 1,700 fixed-penalty notices, more than 50% of which were for fly-tipping; prosecuted 149 people for enviro-crimes, and confiscated and crushed 19 vehicles involved in waste crimes in Croydon.

Along with enforcement action the council has invested significantly in improving its waste services, making it easier for residents and businesses to dispose of their rubbish responsibly. Time-banded waste collections for businesses have been trialled in High Street, Thornton Heath; London Road and Portland Road, while solar-powered bins – which take eight times the volume of waste through compacting – have been introduced in the town centre.

Now the council plans to take the campaign to the next level. Over the next few months, DMWC will enter its second phase, with a strong focus on the community and council’s pride in Croydon, and working together to keeping the streets clean.

Recycling officers will be focusing on neighbourhoods, schools and community champions to boost recycling rates. The borough’s street champions will also play a key role in spreading this message throughout their communities. Time-banded waste collections – which discourage businesses from leaving waste over pavements – will continue to be rolled out in district centres, along with monitoring by dedicated council teams.

At the same time, the council will be investing in four new street-cleaning machines which will hit the pavements later this month – compact mechanical sweepers to target high-use areas throughout the borough. There will also be two additional refuse collection trucks and three 3.5 tonne cage tippers to clean hard-to-reach areas such as housing sites, narrow alleyways and fly-tips. Meanwhile, street cleaners will be armed with 25 new electric hoovers, and 50 more solar-powered bins will be installed to keep busy areas in district centres, such as entrances to stations and parks, tidy.

““Don’t Mess with Croydon really struck a chord with our residents, the vast majority of whom care deeply about street cleanliness and are fed up with a minority of people messing up our borough. So many people have responded positively to our campaign and been keen to get involved in keeping their community clean, for example by becoming a community champion, organising clean up days or reporting fly-tips. We have been overwhelmed by their support and obvious pride in our borough – a huge thank you to all those involved.

“We want to build on this and through the new campaign will be helping everyone to do their bit to keep Croydon clean – whether that’s by recycling so your bins don’t overflow and blow rubbish down the street, or by helping to organise clean-ups in your area. Our tough stance to fly-tippers and litterers will continue and at the same time, we’ll be investing in service improvements that make it easier for everyone. We know residents share our pride in Croydon and together we will continue to make a real difference.”
Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader – Clean Green Croydon

ENDS

2017-01-17T12:16:07+00:00 January 17th, 2017|Recent news|