Around Ealing February 2018 | Page 10

WASTE Tackling £1billion problem with spring clean Ealing Council has signed up to take part in the Great British Spring Clean (GBSC), a national campaign led by Keep Britain Tidy to bring people together to take part in various clear up activities, from 2-4 March. I n January, we asked residents to vote for which locations we should hold clean-up events at during the GBSC. We asked you to pick three of the borough’s worst hotspots: One along our canalways, one of our roads and one of our parks. Following your vote on Facebook, the council will hold a clear-up event at these chosen locations: The Smiths Farm section of the Grand Union Canal; Seaford Road in West Ealing; and Brent Lodge Park in Hanwell. 10 around ealing    February 2018 ‘Chucking litter is like throwing away council tax payers’ money’ The clean- ups will take place on Friday, 2 March. Local people are urged to come along and take part or, alternatively, for community members to come together to organise activities in their own neighbourhoods. HUGE COST OF DUMPED RUBBISH This follows an announcement by Keep Britain Tidy that the task of cleaning up litter and fly-tipping from streets, parks, highways and public spaces costs councils around £1billion a year nationally. In Ealing, the cost of cleaning up litter and fly-tipping has reached an average of £3million a year. Keep Britain Tidy estimates that more than 30 million tonnes of litter and fly-tipped waste is collected from the streets in England every year, with Ealing Council cleaning up 18,000 tonnes across the borough each year. Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure said: “The Great British Spring Clean is a great reminder that it is not