Tonnes of rubbish cleared after Notting Hill Carnival
Hundreds of people have spent this morning clearing away the rubbish left from Notting Hill Carnival's return to the streets.
It's thought around 300 tonnes, the equivalent weight of 25 London buses, was cleared from roads in Ladbroke Grove.
30 per cent of the waste is expected to be recycled by Kensington and Chelsea Council.
The council also compost the waste collected from 1,000 toilets dotted around the carnival route and more than 80 stalls took part in a food waste scheme.
Notting Hill Carnival returned to the streets of West London for the first time in three years following the Covid pandemic. Kensington and Chelsea councillor Emma Will, in charge of Culture, Leisure and Community Safety said:
“I’m so pleased to see how well Carnival has gone and everyone has worked so hard to ensure it ran smoothly.
“The biggest challenge is the clean-up and while Carnival is a wonderful reflection of our, diverse, multi-cultural community, we want to return the streets back to normal as soon as possible, with minimal disruptions.
“I want to thank our waste collection teams at SUEZ and everyone who works throughout the night to make that happen. With 30 per cent of waste recycled and the chemical, water-free toilets that were available, we’ll continue to move towards a greener Carnival however we can.”
Cleaners have a very short time frame to return Notting Hill to normal before commuters leave for work and the tidy-up takes months of planning. Contractor SUEZ’s Recycling manager Gary O’Hagan said:
“We’re very pleased with the way in which our workforce performed over the weekend, and for new members of the team to gain experience of one of the biggest clean-up operations in Europe.
“SUEZ has been carrying out the Carnival clear-up for the Council, for many years, with a tried and tested operational plan. Thanks to meticulous planning and the hard work of our crews, we’re able to have the streets ready for Tuesday’s early morning commuters.”
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