Forum Topic

Litter on the streets of Brentford

I know I have asked this question before but, is Layton Road the dirtiest road in Brentford?Over the last week or so the build up of litter in this street has driven me mad.  Last night (not for the first time) I swept the pavement and kerbside outside my home.  It took me about 15 minutes and I collected and bagged up a large selection of litter that comprised a large quantity of assorted paper, coffee cups and cans.  I only swept outside my home and the rest of street is still litter strewn, no doubt by the time I get home this evening this will have blown about and more will have been deposited and the area outside my home will probably be just as bad as before I swept it.This morning however I walked through Layton Road crossed Windmill Road and down Orchard Road to get to Brentford Station.  Orchard Road appeared to me to be almost litter free.  What "litter" there was suggested to me that it had probably been dropped by recycling/rubbish collectors.  There was a pizza wrapper and a neatly folded cat food box and a drink can.  Not the sort of things normally dropped by passers by. It could be that the litter in Layton Road was also dropped by rubbish collectors.I know that London in general is filthy with careless inconsiderate people dropping rubbish all over the place and I can't necessarily blame the council because residents appear to take absolutely no responsibility for cleaning up mess deposited outside their houses but I really am sick of seeing the street I live in covered in rubbish.  I remember as a child seeing women on their knees with a tin of Cardinal Red polishing door steps and tiles etc., at the time I found it very odd that someone would polish a doorstep.  However I can now understand why they did it, presumably they took pride in their homes and the streets they lived in, something that appears to have gone by the board today.  In any event, is Layton Road the messiest road in Brentford or can anyone name somewhere as bad or worse?

Bernadette Paul ● 7386d9 Comments

Gareth,eaxactly what I discussed with the chap from street cleaning. He said there were 40 litter pickers and 60 dustbin crews(my numbers might be slightly wrong but the ratio is correct)It's indicative also,I think, of ho much pride and conscientiousness is shown by the dustbin crews.After all, the rubbish is bagged up.I suppose their morale is low too,as I know their working conditions have been changed radically over the last few years. Maybe if we went back to having loose rubbish in old stle bins it would help environmentally as we would not be throwing away as much hard-to-degrade plastic,allowing more rubbish to rot quicker.

Keith Iddon ● 7385d

"The executive member at Hounslow Council in charge of the environment (inc. street cleaning) is Cllr. Ron Bartholomew, his email is homes@coophomes.coop and phone at work is 020 85684112. He may be able to help if officers at the council are unable to help address your problem"Cllr Bartholomew was at the Isleworth & Brentford Area Committee meeting tonight..and he spoke well..and for me impressively... on several subjects.Street cleaning and pavement slabs were certainly mentioned tonight..and by contact him you should receive prompt attention.It's a good idea to report the matter on this Forum first..as Councillors are beginning to take note of your messages ..and follow ups at the Area Meetings will jerk the matter into action. How does that sound? !!! ;0)

Jim Lawes ● 7386d

KeithIt's good that you are happy with the response of the officers at the LBH in relation to street cleaning. My issue, if I were a manager responsible for street cleaning would be why the operatives picking up the domestic waste don't clear up after them. Having to send operatives a day later to clean up, adds to the cost of the service, which we all pay for through council tax. It could be a matter of too few operatives handling too many homes in impossible timescales to allow the operatives to clean up after them, if they are to meet department targets. In which case, the level of service needs looking at.

Gareth Evans ● 7386d

Alan Excellent. This is exactly the kind of direct action which is sometimes needed to improve situations.

Gareth Evans ● 7386d

Bernadette, I've had similar experience of litter appearing on my street,particularly after the bin men have left debris.The street cleansing people at the civic are pretty good. If you ask them they can send a litter picker the day after yor bin collection day,which they do on my street.

Keith Iddon ● 7386d

BernadetteThe executive member at Hounslow Council in charge of the environment (inc. street cleaning) is Cllr. Ron Bartholomew, his email is homes@coophomes.coop and phone at work is 020 85684112. He may be able to help if officers at the council are unable to help address your problem.

Alan Sheerins ● 7386d

I'm pretty sure the area you are referring to are the back gardens of the houses in York Road although I suppose it may just be the equivalent of a back alleyway that provides access to the houses in York Road in which case I imagine none of the residents takes responsibility for it.  There is a back alley in Layton Road in a similar state (probably worse) since various residents have dumped anything and everything (there must be at least 4 wheelbarrows dumped)in it and it has become largely impassable.

Bernadette Paul ● 7386d

I use the H91 bus along the A4 and i did notice the other day near the bus stop just past The New England, heading West, there is a stretch of grass that is fenced off by a large black iron fence. This whole fenced off area is full of rubbish - it looks really dirty and I remember thinking what a shame it was that because it is fenced off, no-one probably ever goes in there to clean it up. It is full of cans, wrappers and all sorts.

Rebecca Hobson ● 7386d

If the dustmen and/or recyclers are dropping stuff then you should report it to the Street Care team, they should clear up after themselves. You are right in that people do not take the pride in their immediate neighbourhood like they did years ago - I well remember the old Cardinal too! We are like you and do sweep and clear our frontage and by and large our street isn't too bad, but I do wonder where those blasted plastic bags that seem to find their way into our front garden come from! As for those complete morons that I follow out of the newsagents who open their cigarettes and throw the paper on the ground whilst passing a litter bin - I could strangle them!

Vanessa Smith ● 7386d