Keeping the Streets Clean

Street litter, plus the refuse and recycling from business premises, is an unsightly and unwelcome feature that has to be accommodated. Camden has a variety of on-street litter bins in the area, some of which bear the Seven Dials logo. In the south part of the Study Area, Westminster has a standard, black double bin with rounded top and facilities for stubbing and storing cigarette ends. This arrangement is acceptable as long as the units are at the kerbside.

Recent initiatives have achieved timed rubbish collections on the Camden side and efforts are underway to rationalise the number of companies dealing with collecting rubbish and recycling.

Consideration is being given in other parts of the West End to offering a service through business districts to consolidate deliveries and, particularly, waste collections to those from the local authority and one or two private operators selected by the BID company, rather than the dozens that have been surveyed as operating in some areas.

Consolidation of freight and supply deliveries and waste / recycling collection should be considered for the area.

Incineration, crushing and compaction are activities that building owners and operators can practice to reduce the bulk of material put out and stored, even for a short time on the street.  In-house compacting and bottle crushing should be built in to any larger schemes and included in planning conditions.

Refuse and litter at Seven Dials
Refuse and litter at Seven Dials
Street cleaning machine, Seven Dials, London
Street cleaning machine owned and operated by major landowner