Forum Topic

Is your road,pavement,part of ealing cleaner since the wheelie bins arrived ?.

Harry Jay ● 3404d24 Comments

Acton has been rendered completely disgusting and filthy by the new policy.The council has decided only to clean the streets every three weeks unless they are alerted to a specific problem. And only then if it is deemed necessary by some official. Streets are supposed to get a "deep clean" every  six weeks. None in evidence so far.But our streets with heavy footfall used to get swept either daily or twice a week. All gone.Plus fly-tipping has risen exponentially in Acton Central and other areas. And once it starts, that seems t be a signal for everyone to join in.Plus street-watchers seems to have been effectively abolished as have the enviro-crime officers - all that is left are the self-funding Kingdom bods - who only (according to our local police who seem pretty horrified) are interested in  littering as they can spot-fine for that and therefore make a profit.The council seems to have gone for a poor policy change, on which residents were not consulted, implemented it with an inadequate contract with contractors, which is being only erratically supervised, plus all meaningful enforcement abandoned. Apart from that, it's going swimmingly.

Sara Nathan ● 3376d

Yes Harry. all areas You should  see the fly tippig in the streets on Acton Hill. EVEN HILLCREST SUSRGERY  SMALL CAR PARK IS USED AS A DUMPING PLACE .

Beryl Bashford ● 3378d

Thank you for the replys,its worse than i thought  its borough wide not just a few streets.

Harry Jay ● 3384d

Join the club - I find the garden waste collection service very poor. And to think that's a paid for service as well.My street hasn't been swept once since the new 'service' started.

John Walker ● 3389d

Our street is certainly much dirtier. Our garden rubbish wheelie bin was not emptied a fortnight ago and despite my numerous complaints and council promises, it still hasn't been emptied.

Ian Richardson ● 3389d

Only upside I've noticed is fewer foxes.

Penelope Crocker ● 3389d

Weekly street cleaning is now a thing of the past. Ealing's streets are supposed to be "inspected" weekly and flagged for cleaning but we know this does not happen due to the appalling state of our roads, you will see street cleaners 12 times a year in your street and that's it. The only way to improve the situation is to report dirty streets via the council website, although it maybe sometime before reports are actioned. Alternatively, send a weekly email to your ward councilors cc the cabinet member for the environment so at least they are aware that residents are unhappy.

Kris Smith ● 3389d

So yesterday an auto sweeper piece of plant was driven up and down the street and those close by. Gutters done where no parked cars only Then one pass down the middle of the pavement. Result?Stuff from the gutter kicked up on the pavement, anything from middle of pavement moved to edges and a continuous trail of diesel left on pavement due to a leak from the vehicle Does Ealing Council have a cabinet or have they renamed themselves Gerry Cottles Circus?

Colin Goodman ● 3392d

It takes longer to load wheelie bins than it does to throw the bags into the back of the collection vehicle.  Yet the way the Contractor tries to save money is by using fewer operatives.Residents could have told the Council which households were having problems and needed some help with information and receptacles - so could anybody following a collection vehicle but the Council didn't want to know.  Blinded by the love affair with the wheelie the decision had been made a long time ago.  Some us still don't love them.  It's time we moved on from them.  They have in other places.  I wonder if those people who moaned about the waste on the streets ever did anything or even considered doing anything like sharing their food waste bin or offering a free green box or dustbin to a neighbour like some of us did - or did they silently go "yuk" and tip toe through the detritus?  Or offered to order bins for them?That is where the Streetwatchers scheme worked too.

Philippa Bond ● 3392d

I heard rumours that some councils would like to do collections on a 3ling Council  weekly basis - can you imagine what would happen if Ealing Council decided this was a good idea?

Jean F Fernandez ● 3400d

Just to balance it out, since the bins my street is by far cleaner. No ripped bags from foxes and they are emptied pretty much as per schedule (or only just 1 day late).To be honest my main concern is the people putting bags on pavements near the tube station, far before collection day, which then get ripped open by foxes

Phillip Harrison ● 3400d

It's not as though this is a surprise. The problems with wheelie bins and fortnightly collections and fiddling with recycling are well documented up and down the country, particularly in mixed and dense urban districts.The lessons were all there to be learned. The concerns and warnings all made, even on things like this forum. But all to closed ears.The Cabinet Portfolio holder concerned with this debacle needs to follow the example of the Prime Minister and others. As ought those who unquestionably supported it.He has, not for the first time, got it stupendously wrong. And turned an entire borough into an unkempt district of detritus.The responsibility has to be taken for the pure naivety, or arrogance or incompetence -  it has to be one of the above, or worse.Please, Either roll up your sleeves, be man enough to admit failure, and either get it sorted or resign and let someone more capable sort the mess.The smell in some streets says it all and we've not even had a period of hot humid weather …yet.

Mark Kehoe ● 3400d

Not sure if it counts as official, but when I recently wrote to my councillor about getting a food recycling box (the online and phone channels to the council both refused me - no pun intended!), I also asked about the state of the streets in Northfields.  They are definitely worse.  Someone called Valeria Carli replied that, "Street cleansing is deployed every other week."  This suggests that they have been reduced to match the post-waste-collection round.  Certainly it's not good enough.

Denys Mace ● 3400d

The contractor certainly hasn't kept to schedule in our area leaving all residents unsure what's being collected when. Nothing was emptied yesterday, which is our scheduled day. The net result has been everyone on the street leaving both bins out on the pavement almost permanently for fear of missing a collection. Absolute shambles

Philip Slater ● 3400d

Pretty sure our road has not been swept since before wheelie bins were introduced.

Sue Kendrick ● 3401d

My road used to beswept regularly, and quite effectively, on a weekly basis but whilst I am unable to claim that it has not been done once since the changeover certainly it is a lot less frequently.Is this now official policy?  Have any statements been issued by the Council?

Philip Coe ● 3401d

There are ripped open black bags all down Northfield Avenue every day now - it's completely disgusting. I don't have so much of an issue with the bins themselves but it seems no-one is collecting all the other rubbish and there's loads of it

Jim McCauley ● 3402d

No street cleaning and litter all over the place.  Enormous ugly bins pushed up against windows.  Smell.  Bins left permanently in the street.Estate agents pulling bins out of the way to take photographs.We still need exactly what we needed before.  Recycling Officers/Environmental Health Officers visiting the HMOs and flats (the majority) and the few nonconverted houses which are not using any bins correctly and something done about the Landlords who do not make proper provision for waste and recycling in their dwellings and do not make sure that this is used properly.Avoiding this issue and thinking that foisting these wheelie bins on everyone would magically solve everything whatever the men (and women) in flash suits and shiny shoes promised was a mistake - and has now upset and alienated many of those who cared before.

Philippa Bond ● 3403d

It has become significantly worse.Firstly, the council seems to have dropped the usual street cleansing service on the day following the collection, probably in the mistaken belief that there were going to be no more black bags containing rotting food ripped to shreds by urban foxes. Instead, more frequent flytips of household food waste have now replaced those, so the the problem not only remains but has in fact become much worse.Secondly, the council looks to have underestimated the amount of rubbish being generated by houses in multiple occupancy in our borough. Fortnightly collection, especially for the unauthorised accommodation equipped with standard size bins, is not sufficient, which in turn gives rise to the increased flytipping in the surrounding area.It is clear that this unacceptable situation has now become a borough wide problem. Ealing is going downhill fast.

Tom Carroll ● 3403d

The smell in some streets reminds me of some impoverished shanty town ( and I've been to quite a few over the years ) and it's not just bags which are from mainly places where wheelie bins cannot be accommodated, but more from the bins themselves. This was never going to be a good idea and is going to end up as a serious public health issue.But as the authorities have all 'closed ranks' No doubt it will all be ignored and  the blame foisted on to others.As a footnote, many countries require wheelie bins to be washed out and disinfected each time they are emptied. And that includes some of those shanty towns.  Foul Waste is foul waste whatever society one lives in.

Mark Kehoe ● 3403d

Most  definitely not. No proper street cleaning since new waste arrangements came into effect. The whole system seems to have collapsed.

Robert Gurd ● 3403d

No...about three weeks in and the street hasn't been swept or cleared of litter once. The garden waste hasn't been taken either. Useless council.

John Walker ● 3404d

Absolutely, it is a total nightmare since the introduction of the dreaded Wheelie Bins.Some Wheelie Bins are a permanent feature on the pavement, there was insufficient research to find out whether people have room for these monsters.There are 10 Wheelie Bins in a property nearby, beautiful sight in their front garden!One Wheelie Bin has the most awful smell, this is in our street and it has been there for the past 2 weeks!Streets not swept, weeds overgrown between the pavement. The bases of some trees have so many shoots at their base that they block the pavement. Especially evident in West Ealing.Fly-tipping has increased and the clear up time is longer.Unbelievably those responsible for introducing the Wheelie Bins are full of self praise, you couldn't make it up!

Jean F Fernandez ● 3404d

No. Far, far worseThe South Ealing fly tipping hotspots have increased in size.People are dropping black bags on the High Street next to street binsThe wheelie bins look terrible and shared ones with flats are overspillingNice one Ealing Council, surpassed temselves with incompetence

Colin Goodman ● 3404d