Keep your block clean and tidy

Help to keep your block or street looking good and feeling safe by following our simple tips below.

Overflowing bins and dumped rubbish bags look awful and are a potential health hazard so please dispose of your waste correctly. If you live in a tower block use the bin stores and recycling areas provided to dispose of your refuse correctly. Our Waste teams, along with local Neighbourhood Wardens, did an excellent job over the new year cleaning up huge amounts of rubbish in tower blocks after Christmas. They removed several tonnes of waste that had been left in bags around the bin stores. Situations like this can cause health problems, attract pests and cost you extra money to get the area cleaned.

If you live in a tower block and need to get rid of large items of waste, please use the bulk refuse areas that are provided in your block or contact the Waste Team and arrange for a collection. Please help us by actually putting your rubbish in the bins – you may have seen some cheeky posters reminding you to do just this! When taking your rubbish to the bin store, remember to keep a distance of two metres from others at all times and wash your hands as soon as you get back home.

Wherever you live there are some simple steps everyone can do:

• Always flatten cardboard boxes and make your recycling waste as small as possible to allow more items to fit into the recycling bin
• Make sure your general waste and your recycling go into the correct bin as contaminating bins adds to the cost and means things cannot be recycled
• Bag it and bin it – put your rubbish bags into the bin, not beside it

If you or anyone in your household is isolating because of symptoms of COVID-19 you must double bag any personal waste such as used tissues and don’t put it in the bin area for at least 72 hours.

Leaving rubbish, clutter and personal items in communal areas not only looks unpleasant but it’s dangerous too as it causes a potential fire risk. It is important that communal areas like walkways, entrances and stairwells are kept clear. These are your escape routes in the event of an emergency so they must always be kept clear. We carry out ad-hoc inspections to check communal areas are safe and we can remove personal items such as bikes and pushchairs if they are causing an obstruction.

If you live in a street please put out your bins on the correct day and make sure they aren’t overflowing with rubbish. Find out your bin collection day.