Environmental services aims

We sweep all the roads in the borough on a frequency related to how busy they are. Where possible the schedules of street cleaning are co-ordinated with the collection of domestic refuse and collection of recyclables. Cleansing operations are planned to minimise disruption to those who live and work in the borough.

We use the standards set out in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse to monitor our street cleansing.

These standards include the following grades:

Grade A - No litter or refuse
Grade B - Predominantly litter free apart from some small items
Grade C - Widespread distribution of litter and refuse with minor accumulations
Grade D - Heavily littered with significant accumulations

Although each street in the borough has a scheduled cleansing frequency we are aware that between those scheduled sweeps there can be an increase in litter or detritus.  

Where this litter or detritus is at a point which significantly reduces the cleanliness of a street’s condition we will aim to restore the street to a Grade A standard within a pre-determined period.  The timescales for how quickly you can expect an area to be restored to a Grade A are set out in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse.  

Please note that if the condition of a street is found to be as expected for its point in the cleansing schedule, any reported issue will be dealt with on the next scheduled sweep.

Where specific cleansing problems are reported, we aim to investigate matters within five working days and determine whether arrangements for remedial action are required; if not the area will be attended on the next scheduled sweep.