Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough Council

08/27/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/27/2024 01:28

Hundreds of tonnes of rubbish cleared as Council carries out Carnival clean-up

Waste crews have worked overnight over the bank holiday weekend to remove an estimated 330 tonnes of rubbish as part of Kensington and Chelsea Council's Notting Hill Carnival clean-up.

A team of 200 staff and 30 refuse trucks from SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK headed out into the Carnival area from 10pm on Sunday and Monday nights to collect the litter, which is the equivalent weight of around 27 London buses. Approximately 30 per cent of the waste will be recycled.

The Council also provided more than 1,000 compostable, chemical-free and water-free toilets across the Carnival area.

In addition to ensuring Notting Hill's streets are returned to normal for residents and businesses just hours after the close of Europe's largest Carnival, waste crews will spend the coming days cleaning basements and removing graffiti.

Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith, Lead Member for Culture, said:

"We are immensely proud to host Carnival in our borough and to welcome almost two million people who want to join us in celebrating Caribbean culture at Europe's biggest community event.

"Clearing up when the music stops and the crowds head home is a huge task for us and our partner SUEZ, and I am grateful to the 200 unsung heroes who were out overnight on Sunday and Monday to clear hundreds of tonnes of rubbish.

"Their hard work means that our residents and businesses in Notting Hill woke up on Tuesday morning to find their streets restored to normal just hours after the end of this year's Carnival."

Kensington and Chelsea Council supports Carnival with a delivery grant of £335,000 to assist the organisers in delivering a safe event.