Tag: street cleaning

Council promises action to boost city’s cleanliness

A dedicated graffiti removal team and free special uplift service for some residents are just two new street cleansing measures the City of Edinburgh Council is considering to be introduced this year.

A report published yesterday (14 April) to be discussed by councillors at the Transport and Environment Committee on 20 April sets out how an additional £3.078m, allocated when the local authority set its Lib-Dem budget in February, will be spent introducing these as well as several other new initiatives to keep the Capital looking at its best.

The report also updates on Edinburgh’s latest Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) survey results, which monitor the city’s cleanliness and highlight areas for action.

As well as demonstrating continued improvement in service performance, reaching pre-Covid levels, the data shows the Capital is performing better than average when compared to similar council areas.

If agreed by committee, £530,000 will be set aside for a dedicated team of officers using specialist vehicles to focus on removing graffiti from public buildings and infrastructure with the ability to raise additional income by charging privately owned buildings for the service.

Committee will also be asked to agree to £500,000 being allocated for a means tested special uplift service, making it easier for those households in receipt of council tax reduction to use the service at no cost.

Other measures being considered are increasing the budget for gully cleaning and channel cleaning by more than 50% (an investment of £380,000), funding of £180,000 for a ‘Rapid Response Service’ to improve cleanliness in the city centre, and additional teams to focus on high density areas which have communal bins and suffer from fly tipping at a cost of £290,000.

A dedicated team to tackle approach roads into the city and rural roads at a cost of £300,000 for additional staff and equipment is also being considered. This multi-skilled team would be tasked with litter picking, mechanical sweeping, gully emptying, and verge and hedge maintenance.

The remaining £940,000 would be used for night shift operations and making sure there is always cover for essential tasks such as litter bin emptying, rapid response teams, city centre and town centre cleansing.

Labour’s Cllr Scott Arthur, Environment Convener, said: “Keeping our Capital city clean and tidy for our residents, businesses and those visiting Edinburgh is a top priority for us. We have listened to residents and businesses, and now plan to redouble our focus on cleaning up Edinburgh.

“That’s why we allocated additional funding for our street cleansing team which we set aside in our (Lib-Dem) budget in February.

“If agreed, the measures highlighted in the report will allow us to employ a dedicated team to remove graffiti as well as making sure residents on lower incomes aren’t deterred from having larger items responsibly picked up from their homes through the free uplift service we are proposing.

“We’ll also reduce flood risk by increasing the gully cleaning budget.

“I’d like to thank the street cleansing staff for their efforts in recent months, they have worked within a very limited budget to improve performance.

“The latest data shows there’s been a real improvement in service delivery, and that Edinburgh performs better than average when compared to equivalent Councils.

“This gives me confidence that deploying additional staff, vehicles and equipment throughout the city will further ensure street cleanliness continue to improve.”

Edinburgh residents asked to prepare for strike action

The Council has published advice and guidance to help residents manage the impact of planned strike action in the city.

The industrial action by members of the GMB and Unite unions, scheduled to last from tomorrow, 18th –30 August, is expected to cause significant disruption to the city’s waste and cleansing services.

Residents are being asked to check the dedicated pages on the Council’s website and social media channels for advice on how to manage their waste safely and responsibly during the strike.

Regular updates on suspended services and on when collections will restart following the strike will be posted as and when they become available.

It is anticipated that all bin collections and street cleaning will be affected. The city’s three recycling centres will be closed and bulky uplift and flytipping services will also be paused as a result of the action.

Commercial waste services for businesses are not collected by the Council and will continue as normal, as will street cleansing on the High Street and Mound Precinct, which are managed by the Fringe Society.

Council leader Cammy Day said: “It’s now looking increasingly likely that industrial action will go ahead here in Edinburgh and in other cities across the country. Together with my fellow council leaders, I’ll continue to press the Scottish Government to resolve this as quickly as possible.

“I firmly believe that all council colleagues deserve to be paid fairly for the work they do and have every right to take this action and have their voices heard. As the lowest funded council in Scotland, it’s time for the Scottish Government to properly fund our Capital city and its services.

“I fully appreciate the impact this action will have on our city and we’re asking residents to be patient and work with us to help manage the inevitable impacts by planning ahead and following our advice.

“We’ve published tips on what to do with their waste and recycling and how they can help us to keep the city as clean as possible during and after the strike.

“We’re also reaching out to our tenants and housing associations, businesses, festivals and other partners asking them to share our messaging and provide whatever support they can during this busy and important time for our Capital city.

“We’re developing a detailed recovery plan so clean ups can begin and services can resume as quickly as possible after the strike.

“Please continue to check our website and social media channels for updates.”

NOTE: The pictures above were taken earlier this week – i.e. BEFORE the strike starts

Let’s all play our part for the safe return of Edinburgh’s festivals

As Edinburgh’s summer festivals begin in the Capital, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture Leaders have welcomed their return, though urge everyone to play their part for a safe, enjoyable August.

In preparation for the launch of the Art, Book, Fringe, Film and International Festivals, robust plans have been drawn up to allow their safe return. Council officers have worked closely with Festivals Edinburgh, the Summer Festivals, the Scottish Government, Event Scotland and other stakeholders to support the staging of programmes within the latest safety guidance.

Culture Leaders have also thanked all those who have made Edinburgh’s festivals possible in 2021, recognising teams from across the Council, from licensing, events, environmental health and public safety to roads teams, noise and waste services.

This is in close partnership with festival operators, the Scottish Government, NHS, Essential Edinburgh and the Emergency Services, who have collaborated to bring festivals back safely and with a new emphasis on outdoor venues.

Citywide planning began in February with the approach continuously updated and adapted to remain up to date with the latest clinical advice and guidance from the Scottish Government.

While Scotland will move out of COVID level 0 on Monday, festival-goers are being reminded that for this first weekend of celebrations level 0 restrictions will remain in place, and that they should continue to follow the guidance.

From Monday, everyone is still encouraged to take care, practice hand hygiene and give one another space, as well as observing mask-wearing rules.

While delighted to welcome the festivals back, safety has remained a priority for the Council. A wider, more detailed planning process has involved different Event Planning and Operation Group meetings for each festival, all feeding into a citywide forum for overview. This year venues will be spread throughout the city and while traditional venues are being used again, a range of exciting new settings will be brought to life this year.

As in previous years, joint inspections between the Council and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are now underway ensuring safety at all venues. Throughout the festivals, spot checks will take place as well as daily multi-agency meetings to ensure the safe continued running of the festival.

In addition to safety plans the Council is working with Fringe organisers, as always, to make sure the High Street is kept clean and well managed and would remind everyone that when they’re out and about to always bin litter or take it home.

This summer the Council has added 30 additional litter bins to parks and open spaces across the city, including BBQ bins at Inverleith, Portobello Beach and Leith Links. Additional public toilets have also been installed in six parks and new signage placed on 90+ litter bins in hotspot parks and waterside locations.

Culture and Communities Convener Cllr Donald Wilson said: “We’re incredibly proud to be known as the world’s Festival City and recognise the extremely positive contribution our festivals make to our lives, bringing the arts to Edinburgh in a way no other city on the planet enjoys.

“We are delighted see their return this year but want to assure citizens that public health remains a priority and all the Festivals have planned with this in mind. We’ve been working closely with all the organisers and our partners to ensure they can be enjoyed safely and would remind everyone to follow health advice and keep everyone safe. Please remember that for the first weekend of the festivals, we’re still in level 0 of the restrictions framework, so please observe the guidance in place.

“The city and events sector has responded to the crisis with determination and innovation with either hybrid models of delivery or the creation of outdoor/online programmes and whilst this year sees a much smaller offering it will be fantastic to see some of the buzz return to the city.”

Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Communities Vice Convener, said: “The return of live August festivals events and performances truly reflects our city’s ongoing recovery and, of course, our cultural DNA.

“There’s no doubt our festivals were greatly missed last year and it’s going to be fantastic to welcome back audiences and to those visiting we ask them to continue to follow the safety guidance and please enjoy this year’s offering safely.

“The planning for the festivals has been an enormous task especially under the ongoing pressures of the pandemic and I would like to thank all the teams and partner organisations who have worked together throughout to bring some of that festival magic back to the city this year.”

No laughing matter: council recruits extra cleaners for city centre

Extra street cleaners have been drafted in to help keep the Capital – well, the city centre – clean during this year’s Festival.

Forty additional staff will join the core team of 37 city centre street cleansing operatives in August, to help manage extra demand over the busy summer period.   Continue reading No laughing matter: council recruits extra cleaners for city centre

City cleanup initiative targets Leith Walk

Leith foot of the walk

A drive to tackle rubbish, fly-tipping and dumped trade waste on city streets was kicked off this week. The second phase of the Our Edinburgh initiative, which aims to address anti-social behaviour like littering, has begun in the Leith Walk area, identified as a hotspot for overflowing bin complaints. Continue reading City cleanup initiative targets Leith Walk

Craig Hill’s rubbish!

FRINGE STAR HELPS COUNCIL CLEAN UP ITS ACT

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Cheeky Fringe stalwart Craig Hill kept it clean when he helped City of Edinburgh Council’s street cleansing team spruce up the capital during the Festival.

The comedy veteran and Edinburgh resident pitched in to help the local task force tackle one of the summer’s busiest spots, against the familiar backdrop of his own promotional posters at Middle Meadow Walk.

Craig is one of hundreds of performers to be promoting their shows using the Council’s official advertising, which for the first year will generate thousands of pounds towards keeping the city clean during the festival.

The scheme, now in is in its fourth year, dissuades illegal fly-posters by providing alternative advertising opportunities, saving the Council up to £350,000 on the cost of cleaning away flyers and posters.

And now, for the first time, revenue from the advertising contract with print and distribution company Out of Hand, in partnership with Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, will be ploughed back into keeping the city beautiful for residents and visitors.

Money gained from the contract to advertise on Council-owned assets will be used to fund additional street cleansing and litter capacity over the busy festival period.

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“Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an amazing experience for performers, visitors and people living in Edinburgh, but it has an undoubted impact on the city’s environment.

“That’s why we’re glad to be able to work with Out of Hand and Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society to provide a solution benefitting both citizens and those making the most of this world-famous festival.”

The City of Edinburgh Council’s outdoor advertising poster project, delivered by Out of Hand, provides different styles of advertising on around 900 Council-owned assets throughout the city, including wrap-around lamp post advertising and tower columns.

Revenue gained from advertising of performances during the period will fund operational costs associated with the Fringe.

Amongst these measures are the employment of more than 70 temporary street cleaners to patrol the city’s streets to tackle litter resulting from increased footfall and a batch of extra large bins, to be located in some of the city’s busiest areas to cope with the rise in rubbish.

Comedian Craig Hill added: “Edinburgh is so gorgeous I’m really pleased that one of the Council’s priorities is keeping it clean because it’s too beautiful a city to mess up!”

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