By Ian Oxley
Ever wondered why there is so much litter and grime in some
areas of Stoke Newington? Ever wished Stoke Newington was cleaner?
I am a resident in Northwold Road and last October was
in despair about the amount of fly-tipping and litter that I woke
up to each day. I began complaining to the Council: ‘please
can you clean up Northwold Road’. I then experienced the same
as many people have experienced – I was passed around from
department to department like a hot potato.
Finally, after months, I found two or three people in the Council
who said ‘this can be fixed’. The Council then added
new bins, worked with local businesses and residents and sorted
out most of the problems. Hallelujah! I could walk along the path
again without stepping over litter, leaks, overflowing wheelie bins
and the rest. Having seen the situation fixed, I noticed other areas
of Stoke Newington were just as bad – for example, the High
Street seems to be constantly under a sea of litter and piles of
old boxes and food.
In January this year I founded “Keep Stoke Newington Tidy”.
Since then, lots of people have joined the campaign. It seems that
everyone wants our town to be tidy. The council have committed to
several improvements over the summer, including working with local
businesses to sort out who can put what bags on the street and when
(so called ‘time banding’), and employing local sweepers
who will get to know the local community in ‘hot spots’
such as the High Street.
We have asked the council to have the High Street tidy by August,
and await the results. Local councillors, businesses, resident groups,
community leaders and Police Community Support Officers have all
agreed to help out. The Mayor was re-elected with litter and rubbish
dumping one of his top campaign priorities, so that should help
as well. The Council has got its funding in order and now wants
to sort out quality of life issues, such as leisure centres, youth
clubs and cleaner streets. So far, together with the Council, we
have made a start on areas such as Cazenove Road, Wilmer Place,
Northwold Road, and a few improvements on the High Street, and we
await the big push from the council in June and July.
What can we do as residents? Well, it's fairly easy – don’t
drop rubbish on the floor! Also, call the Council and point out
problem areas to them (0208 356 5000 and ask for Environmental,
Complaints, or Waste Services). Or call Mark Griffin at the Council
and offer to be a ‘Street Leader’. Call the Council
to ask for them to remove, for free, any bulk waste items (0208
356 6688), such as old microwave ovens. Ask the Council for recycling
options if you do not recycle already.
What can we do as business owners? Call John Wheatley at the Council
to make sure that you have the best kind of waste removal contracts
available and that bins do not overflow, or take waste round to
recycling points like Wilmer Place. When the Council had funding
issues several years ago, this area may have been neglected. However,
there is now a definite push, under Mr Wheatley, to get things sorted
out. The quickest way for an area to get cleaner is for everyone
to work together. We've started – let's hope we can achieve
something!
If you would like to help Keep Stoke Newington Tidy, or would
like to join the email group to keep updated or pass on ideas, please
email me on ian.oxley@tiscali.co.uk. If you would like to learn
more in general about how to defeat litter in an area,and/or more
about Hackney Council, try these sites: www.encams.org, www.hackney.gov.uk
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