The men and women keeping Wandsworth clean and tidy 

 In total, the men and women who keep the borough’s streets and town centres free from litter and fly-tipping clean 400 kilometres of streets every week, come rain or shine, pandemic or no pandemic.  

Watch our video to hear what they have to say about the work they do and why they are so proud of what they do,  

Van driver, Jacob who clears fly-tips in Wandsworth and Battersea said: “People normally come to me and say “You are doing a good job”, and they offer me a cup of tea”. 

Lucy who keeps Battersea clean and tidy is equally proud of her work, “I’m so happy when people come to me and say thank you for my hard work.”  
 
Other than pride in their job, if there’s one message they all had, it’s for local people to “use a bin” or take their rubbish home. It’s not difficult to do and makes such a difference to the local area.  

And if you didn’t get a chance to watch our video with local refuse collector Scott Forrester, here’s a reminder of the tremendous effort the bins crew put in during the pandemic when it was at its height.  
 
Research from earlier this year, by property website Mashoom.com, backs up this sentiment, highlighting that Wandsworth has one of the nation’s lowest proportions of missed bin collections. 
 
A study based on Freedom of Information requests to UK councils found that refuse collectors in Wandsworth are less likely to leave residents’ bins unemptied than many other parts of the country. 

The research found that the town hall received 7,023 missed bin complaints last year out of a total number of more than 15.561 million bin collections carried out by the council’s contractors. 

The sterling effort made by our waste crews in Wandsworth is also highlighted by Government data. Data published by Defra shows that Wandsworth issued 722 fines (FPNs) for fly-tipping offences last year. Over the same period, the borough suffered 3924 flytips meaning culprits face just under a one in five chance of being caught and fined.   

Environment spokesman Councillor Steffi Suters said:
“People who dump rubbish on the streets of Wandsworth should understand that we are not a soft touch and we will make concerted efforts to fine those who commit this environmental crime. 

“We have a dedicated team of investigators committed to catching those who pollute and damage our streets. 

“But we don’t rest our on laurels, and we know that some neighbourhoods are more badly affected than others. 

 “We have just installed signs, pictured, in fly-tipping hotspot areas that encourage residents to report fly-tipping and fly-tip offenders to an AI chatbot, as well as working with businesses to launch an anti-litter pledge, as well as a joint initiative with landlords and estate agents to help residents do the right thing with their waste when they move in and out of a rental property.”  

The council also offers a cheap and competitive rate to remove large unwanted items like old mattresses and furniture., which has also played a role in reducing the number of these items that are dumped on the streets. 

For details of how to book a bulky waste collection and information on refuse and recycling collections please visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/waste. Fly tips can also be reported over the phone by calling (020) 8871 8558.