Litter and Street Cleansing

What you can expect from us
Surrey Heath makes sure that streets, parks and open spaces are kept clean. We must also keep our own public land clear of litter and refuse. Other bodies, such as Housing Associations, hospitals and government departments, have a similar duty as do the governing bodies of local schools and colleges.

The following list gives a few examples of the operations carried out to keep the borough clean;

litter picking
street sweeping
removing fly posters
clearing fly tips
removing graffiti
cleaning up refuse spills

The Council's aim is to provide a clean litter free Borough and to remove fly tipping and graffiti quickly. If you identify a problem let us know on 01276 707330. Problems on private land and property are the owners responsibility and sometimes take a little longer to resolve.

The Council shall keep to the standards of cleanliness and set out in the government's "Code of Practice". Surrey Heath can also insist that some privately-owned places including public car parks, shopping centres or land outside sports stadiums are kept clear of litter, by turning the land into a "litter control area"; issue "street litter control notices" to certain types of shop owners telling them to keep the pavement near their shop clear of litter and collect any abandoned shopping trolleys in their area.

The following list shows the work currently carried out to keep our borough clean and tidy;

Cleans all your major shopping areas every day
Clears all the large litter from the town centre by 8.30 each morning
Cleans the centres of all other communities at least twice each week, most are cleaned everyday
Picks up litter from all other high profile areas subject to heavy littering at lease once each week
Keeps residential areas clear of heavy littering
Keeps recycling centres clean and tidy seven days a week
Thoroughly sweeps all major through routes once a month
Provides litter bins, and maintains them to a high standard.
Clears up spillage's within 3 hours of notification
Clears most fly tipping within 48 hours of notification - Large Fly Tips may take up to 7 days.
Sweeps all the Borough's roads as often as necessary and at least 4 times a year
Keeps council-owned car parks clean and tidy
Regularly removes graffiti from streets and buildings
Makes resident's safety a priority in carrying out leaf clearance

You can help by telling the council (01276 707330) or the police if you see anyone dumping rubbish. This is important as, under The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill, the council has increased powers to pursue people that have a negative impact on our environment by fly tipping rubbish, for example.

Cleaner Neighbourhood Act
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill came into force in June 2005. It gives the Council greater powers to make use of fixed penalties for littering, graffiti, fly posting and dog fouling. These new powers will help the Council to reduce the effects of anti-social behaviour and contribute to a safer, greener environment.

Target Response Times for Cleaning up Litter

Types of area	Not much litter apart from a few small items	Quite a lot of litter with small amounts building up	A lot of litter with big piles building up
Shopping streets in community centres	Within 6 hours	Within 3 hours	1 hour
Residential areas, busy parks	Within 12 hours	Within 6 hours	2 hours
Through routes	No deadline	Within 12 hours	6 hours
Other areas	Within one week	60 hours

surreyheath.gov.uk

Litter and Street Cleansing