Forum Topic

Utter filth of Ealing Broadway

Had a meeting in Ealing Broadway this morning.First time I've spent any time in the Haven Green/ Station  area in a while.It is fithy dirty beyond belief.On one hand Haven Green looks a picture right now. But the pavement on the station side between the old station building and the actual station is shocking. Mostly caused by chewing gum but spillages and spitting.The steps to where the Ealing Club once was are equally filthy, faeces, vomit and bird droppings. Lovely introduction to Ealing.Someone has the horrid task to clear that. What is clear is that the right equipment for dealing with this is not being deployed.But given that the council place so much emphasis on fines for vehicles dropping off passengers and any other petty offence, maybe they could get a bit more serious about those who litter and have habits that do actually pose a risk to public health.How proud Ealing's councillors must be of 'Cleaner Ealing.'

Anthony Waller ● 4415d31 Comments

Well said Tony, a touch of the taser for litter-louts.

Gerry Tan ● 4401d

A good tasering** for all litter louts - especially smokers and gum chewers - that's the answer.[** Much quicker and more environmentally friendly than birching.  After all, where is one going to find adequate supplies of birch twigs in this day and age, and then there is the problem of recycling them afterwards as well.  No, better to just taser 'em.]I'm only half-joking folks - some level of community shaming does have to be recovered for us to make any progress on this at all.

Tony Colliver ● 4401d

The 'battle cry' of those seeking independence in 1773 and on was 'no taxation without representation'. Perhaps we should all start shouting 'no rights without responsibility'.

Nigel Brooks ● 4406d

Yep, all rights and no responsibilities.

Philippa Bond ● 4406d

Unfortunately, the crux of the matter is that those responsible for the filth are only concerned about their rights. It's a sorry state of affairs, and it's unlikely to get any better now.

Tom Carroll ● 4407d

It irritates me too that people don't think that they have to take responsibility for their take-away food and drink containers.They often add this to the legitimate bags of recycling that businesses leave out ready for collection or drop it into someone's recycling box.  This can contaminate a collection and mean that it is not collected.What is the recycling collector picking up someone's recycling or waste bags supposed to do with it?  If you eat and drink on the hoof then you should be made responsible for your waste and take it home or find an appropriate bin.  Your waste = your responsibility.

Philippa Bond ● 4407d

A significant aspect of good behaviour is shame and in the countries you refer to no one is worried about anyone's feelings if they tell them off. There is probably a greater sense of community and personal investment in their areas. It doesn't surprise me that children drop litter when they see their parents do it. I remember posters and ads telling me to take my litter home with me and it still makes me cringe to see someone take the wrapper off a cigarette packet and throw it to one side. I actually have to sweep quite a lot of this stuff up as part of my job and it's always worse on sunny days because people are outside eating food they've bought. What's left drifts onto the premises I deal with. We probably do need more bins but I can't understand why anyone thinks that they don't have to wait until they find one to get rid of takeaway containers. It isn't someone else's problem. I was getting off a train at North Acton after sitting with a group of well dressed men, one of whom was eating from a box, and just before the train doors closed he put the container on the edge of the platform. Out of sight, out of mind.

Albertina McNeill ● 4408d

Some of our pavements and streets in Ealing are filthy - as a resident I often feel ashamed. Why can't we have clean streets and public places like the Swiss, the Danes and the Singaporeans?

Gerry Tan ● 4408d

I do feel sorry for the staff who have to clean the public toilets in Ealing broadway Centre (and beyond) I dread to think what kind of homes these people live in!One public toilet attendant told me that she has had to clean up the floor when it was used instead of the actual toilet! Yuk!

Jean F Fernandez ● 4408d

I really do feel for the cleaners. Some of the stuff they have to deal with each and every day goes way beyond a few dog ends, leaves and pages of Metro.But I also feel that TFL ought to be putting into the cleaning pot as much of the grime is caused by the volume of customers for their services.Those pavements need to be jet washed at least 1once a month and sprinkler swept like in London every night.Not to mention the TB health hazard such filth in a very confined area occupied by people who have to wait for buses and exposed to such filth for up to 40 mins

Anthony Waller ● 4408d

Saw some street cleaners out at the weekend at the Broadway - which was good to see.  I hope they also do something about stopping people who drop litter and fining them - but it is always good to see posters about this as well.

Philippa Bond ● 4409d

Yes, you have to speak up (so long as you feel safe to do so).Sometimes it may only be an "Oh Yuuk" or "How Disgusting!"Ignoring it unfortunately encourages it.

Philippa Bond ● 4410d

I remember that incident Ben. I recall telling some rude schoolkids to stop maltreating the toddlers' swings playgound, where upon they turned on me with abusive language and laughter and continued to maltreat the swings. And there were other parents there who were taking their youngsters to the swings and roundabout - they turned away and didn't back me up or support me. I applaud those who tell people off for anti-social acts in public places.

Gerry Tan ● 4410d

Funnily enough - and before reading your post- this very morning I did challenge a teenager on his way to Drayton Manor to pick up his fag butt. He flatly declined justifying his refusal by saying "Everyone drops their fags butts, so why should I pick it up?" before his girlfriend picked it up for him. It is the thin end of the wedge. If your are going to drop a fag butt then I am sure you are more likely than others to drop crisp packets, tin cans etc. Those damn pedestrians on pavements causing more damage...blah blah blah!Some of you may remember that I chucked a carrier bag full of rubbish back at the Black Cab driver who threw it onto the road when he was parked up on the rank at Ealing Broadway. He was embarrassed enough to put it into the bin that was almost within arms reach of his cab.

Ben Owen ● 4410d

Would anyone who agrees that the litter problem is down to those who drop it be willing to challenge someone they see doing it rather than leaving to an official? As a teenager I was stunned at how clean Switzerland was and my partner remarked at how clean Hamburg was a few years ago. The difference is that in those places the messy are outnumbered by people confident enough to tell them off. They would probably be stunned that our taxes go towards paying anyone else to do it. This is an issue raised quite often on BBC Radio London's Breakfast Show. One of the presenters (Penny Smith) has tried to challenge people she sees dropping litter even though the response is sometimes quite negative. I've thought about it and wondered whether the correct approach is to be very polite and say something like "You seem to have dropped this? Shall I put it in the bin for you?" Wouldn't work for gum, vomit or bird droppings, obviously.

Albertina McNeill ● 4410d

>But if the council don't clear it up people are more likely to drop litter if they think the place is already a dump.You see this all the time, somebody puts an empty coffee cup down, and within five minutes it's joined by a plethora of other bits of rubbish.I imagine the litter louts that follow the original lout's action think, "well, if somebody else did it, it means it's alright for me to do it".Still not an excuse to excuse litter louts in my book.

Paul James ● 4412d

"Plus, it's the council who have the powers to discourage littering by issuing spot fines. Just imagine if they were as hot penalizing littering as they are parking violations."Exactly. The amount of litter would drop (no pun intended) dramatically if there was an enforced penalty regime.

Nigel Brooks ● 4412d

"Don't blame the council, blame the source, the people that just chuck stuff on the ground, spit gum, discard cigarette butts, paper, food etc.."But if the council don't clear it up people are more likely to drop litter if they think the place is already a dump.Plus, it's the council who have the powers to discourage littering by issuing spot fines. Just imagine if they were as hot penalizing littering as they are parking violations.

John Walker ● 4412d

Oh well theres no point in paying council tax then if its only meant for car parks no one needs and extra council offices.

Tony Maxey ● 4412d

>I don't understand why this Labour council is so lackadaisical about littered streets and public spaces.Don't blame the council, blame the source, the people that just chuck stuff on the ground, spit gum, discard cigarette butts, paper, food etc..It's not he council putting it there!

Paul James ● 4412d

Philip,"More than 30 million tonnes of litter are collected from our streets every year. That costs council tax payers nearly £1billion every year to clean up."(Source: Keep Britain Tidy)Have I cleared that one up?

Ben Owen ● 4413d

I don't understand why this Labour council is so lackadaisical about littered streets and public spaces. It's such an obvious indicator to residents that they aren't up to the job and have little pride in the borough they represent.I chanced upon a blog recently by someone walking the Capital Ring who was quite literally taken aghast at how littered and uncared for the Ealing stretch was compared to neighbouring boroughs.If I was canvassing for the Tories I'd put litter high up the agenda. Forget about the car park and the Xmas tree as only local politicians who really care, plus it's old news.

John Walker ● 4413d

Still around 13 tonnes (or tons) per piece of litter then (credits to Nigel Brooks)

Philip Coe ● 4413d

It is disgusting and illegal. But forty eight percent of pedestrians on pavements will admit to dropping litter on the pavememt. You might remember these shocking stats from one of my previous postings:2.25 million pieces of litter dropped a year;30 million tonnes dropped a year;£1 billion pounds spent to pick upI would love it if Tony Purton spoke up to slaughter his beloved pedestrians on a scandal that has a far greater impact on Ealing than a mother and child cycling along the pavement. Don't hold your breath...

Ben Owen ● 4413d

Yes you can be fined for spitting and there has been a recent initiative to clamp down on it in the borough, starting with Southall where it has become a serious problem. More details here: http://www.ealing.gov.uk/news/article/873/council_and_police_targeting_spitting. From what people are saying here it looks like Ealing Broadway should be one of the areas to target as well.

Paul Conlan ● 4413d

"...particularly the wholesale abuse of Blue Badge spaces."We were have morning coffees in the window seat of Cote when a 30'ish lively man parked his large SUV outside Cote on yellow lines and joined others already inside Cote. We assumed he was picking up a disabled passenger as he had a Blue Badge. We saw him leave without a passenger, jump into his SUV and vroomed off.

Gerry Tan ● 4413d

The lacklustre bunch of green uniformed individuals who patrol our streets, but seemingly ignore many parking offences (particularly the wholesale abuse of Blue Badge spaces), are titularly Civil  Enforcement Officers and are empowered to issue such fines.Woe betide they should actually do that rather than hang around in groups on Mattock Lane for large parts of the afternoon while ignoring the parking offences around them.

Nigel Brooks ● 4413d

I have mentioned this topic in the past to Streetwatchers and to Julian Bell via email.I suggested that we should copy Hammersmith & Fulham Town Hall and post signs in Ealing advising residents that they face a fine for dropping litter. In my email to Julian Bell I suggested we follow the example of other Councils and actually ban the filthy habit of spitting which should be strictly enforced with hefty fines!One can only live in hope that Ealing Council will act to ensure our streets are cleaned properly as one would expect in an area where flats are being sold for megabucks in the Dicken's Yard development! Surely dirty filthy streets is a bad reflection on the area as a whole?Why don't they give traffic wardens something to do instead of pursuing the long suffering motorist and allow them to issue fines to those who litter our streets?Ealing isn't filthy but some of the people obviously are!I

Jean F Fernandez ● 4413d

Yes, sometimes I feel ashamed about the dirty pavements and streets of Ealing - I certainly feel ashamed to bring visitors and relatives to Ealing on occasions.

Gerry Tan ● 4413d

You can be fined for littering - including cigarette butts, chewing gum etc.  Perhaps there is not enough enforcement and not enough posters telling people that this sort of behaviour is anti-social and that they can be fined.Can you be fined for spitting yet?  You can in some places.  It is disgusting, spreads disease and is anti-social.That doesn't mean that the streets don't also need cleaning regularly!

Philippa Bond ● 4413d

Well I'm afraid you can only look at the residents there :-/Parking police should have there powers extended to on the spot fines for littering (and this includes cigarette butts) and expectorating.

Edward Rountree ● 4415d