Published: Tuesday 30 August 2022
As the Notting Hill Carnival was safely welcomed back to the borough after a three year hiatus, getting the streets cleared and back to normal was high on the agenda. Around 300 tonnes of rubbish are estimated to have been cleared after this year’s Carnival - the equivalent of 25 London buses. The task was completed by 200 cleaners supported by 30 refuse trucks and sweepers, over Monday night ready for Tuesday morning.
Lead Member for Culture, Leisure and Community Safety, Cllr Emma Will 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 whilst 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% of waste recycled and the chemical, water-free toilets that were available, we’ll continue to move towards a greener Carnival however we can.”
The Council recycles all it can of the collected rubbish, including composting the waste collected from over 1000 toilet facilities. This year we have increased the number of food waste collections, with more than 80 stall holders participating in the collection scheme.
Gary O’Hagan, SUEZ Recycling & Recovery UK Contract General Manager 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.”
Kensington and Chelsea and their contractors SUEZ are responsible for clearing 85 per cent of the total waste produced over the two-day event.
With the crews unable to start work until the crowds have dispersed and the need to have the rubbish cleared and streets cleaned by 6am Tuesday morning, it’s a precision operation that involves months of careful planning.
Final figures for clean-up total weight will be confirmed later this week; in 2019 over 300 tonnes were collected.