Clean up Hounslow Zoom meeting minutes
9th July 2020 8 pm
Attended by:
Clean up Hounslow members
Guest Wayne Stevenson (Assistant Director Environment, Hounslow Council)
Apologies for Mike’s early departure
Issue: A roads not being cleansed.
Action: TFL have responsibility of A roads including A312, becomes a grey area with parts HH attend. Currently FixMyStreet reports not being sent to TFL, TFL working with HH to address this issue.
Issue: Covid impacts
Action: Covid has affected HH operations with operatives now working nearer their homes and most operative vehicles been driven singly.
Enforcement taken a back seat as team cannot open rubbish bags due to potential contagion.
Issue: Fly tipping and littering persistent problem, a lot of fly tip from HMO’s.
Action: HH recognises waste provisions do not match number of people living in a property and bin capacities are not meeting needs. HMO’s can request for bigger wheelie bins, suggestion of leaflets dropped into letterboxes to advise of this service and have a neighbourly chat with residents to encourage bigger bin requests. Chats from neighbours might be received better than through officials but steps will be taken if not compliant.
Waste and recycling facility open and quality of recycle product is high.
Community working in partnership with council for betterment of our areas. Community litter picks encouraged to help change behaviour, inform community of events through social media.
Licensing policy tightened for landlords, landlord must provide adequate waste provision and if you know a landlord is not towing the line, let Wayne et al know.
HH have an anti-litter campaign with two additional crews assigned 19 km of space, HH have recruited a dedicated fly tipping tip team with 5 employees and additional 3 enforcement staff.
Increase recycling in housing estates, food waste recycling on estates.
Problem: Rubbish and bins overflowing in parks
HH aware of pockets of problem, park usage has risen dramatically due to Covid, more picnics etc. and rubbish left in parks -HH operating in 30 parks across borough to address the issues. HH recognises lack of waste bins and recycling bins in green spaces. New manager of Lampton 360 reviewing parks, litter picking activities, reviewing bins and quality of bins.
Problem: Littering of roads off Berkeley Ave
Action: We will never have enough street bins, anti-littering campaign “take your rubbish with you”. Considering placing litter bins in hot spot locations, such as entrances to schools and parks. Litter bins on residential streets problematic as will attract fly tip, cause more problems that helping with the problem.
Problem: Lack of trees
Action: HH going through audit of trees and admittedly have not replaced trees. Part of their work at the moment is to replant but also have committed to climate emergency action plan, with an increase in tree planting across the borough. There is current fight for space with trees and utilities. Projection-by 2030, 50,000 shrubs and trees to be planted. Victoria Lawson working with green recovery to increase tree canopy.
Potential app around trees which helps community to request a tree and adopt trees.
Loss of connection on my part-re-joined meeting
Issue: Takeaway food problem especially from people chucking their litter out of car windows.
Action: If there are take away litter hot spots, shops need to take responsibility. Report offending shops to the council (HH and enforcement team) and cc in Public Health England if customers disposing takeaway food rubbish in streets and bringing vermin. ZamZam in Cranford have been served with a warning and have to clean their rubbish 20 metres from their shop.
Wrap up
Clean up operation being planned for Park Lane. Some views that community litter pick might absolve HH responsibility, but recognition that we are not taking over council job, we don’t have the powers to do that and we are leading by example to changes hearts and minds towards litter. Working in partnership with the council for the betterment of our areas- key lead by example.
Reminder of the draft licensing policy consultation-street drinking major problem across borough with drinking hotspots. Members encouraged to consult to include Cranford in the CIP.
Next meeting?
Minutes submitted by Dr Umme Khanzada