Ealing Councillor Describes PPE Dumping as Disgusting and Dangerous

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Says discarded masks, gloves and cleaning clothes posing risk to key workers

Ealing’s environment boss has hit out at the “disgusting and dangerous” littering of used personal protective equipment on the borough’s streets.

Councillor Mik Sabiers has warned residents that irresponsibly dumping rubbish could risk spreading coronavirus to other local people or frontline staff.

Households are advised to double-bag potentially infected items such as tissues, cleaning clothes and PPE, and leave them aside for at least 72 hours before putting them in an outside bin.

Cllr Sabiers said, “Leaving discarded PPE equipment such as gloves and masks on the borough’s streets is disgusting and frankly dangerous.

“Please ensure that this is correctly disposed of to avoid putting local people and our frontline staff at risk of infection.

“It’s tough times at the moment and we have frontline staff working incredibly hard to ensure waste is collected and streets are kept clean. We are urging residents to work with us – minimise waste where possible and store waste that cannot be collected or disposed of at the moment.”

Due to the lockdown, reuse and recycling centres at Greenford and Acton are closed until further notice, but residents are reminded it is now more important than ever that fly-tipping is irresponsible, as well as a criminal offence.

In the neighbouring borough of Hounslow, civic chiefs have also warned there is “no excuse” for dumping waste as reports of fly-tipping have hiked over the last few days.

Recycling and rubbish collections are continuing across Hounslow despite the coronavirus lockdown, while the Space Waye re-use and recycling centre is temporarily closed.

Extra dumped rubbish on the streets however is adding to the burden of key workers, Hounslow bosses have stressed.

Cllr Guy Lambert, Hounslow’s highways and recycling boss, said: “The vast majority of our residents do the right thing, but in the past 48 hours there has been a reported increase in fly tipping across the borough.

“Dumping waste is a criminal offence, could result in a fine, causes a mess on our streets and puts added strain on our essential service providers and key workers – the men and women who work hard to keep our streets clean.”

In 2019, Hounslow Council handed out 4,803 fines for fly-tipping and littering, and civic chiefs said enforcement teams are continuing to investigate such crimes.

“There simply is no excuse for dumping waste, particularly as the collection of waste and recycling remains a priority for the council and we are continuing with all collections as normal,” Cllr Lambert added.

“As most of us are now staying at home, it is natural that this will create more household waste and put pressure on our recycling and waste services – a bit like an extended Christmas.”

People are being urged not to get rid of waste on a bonfire because of the impact on air pollution and of smoke spreading to neighbouring homes or anyone who could be impacted by coronavirus.

And residents are also asked to avoid doing any big clear-outs at this time to prevent large amounts of waste being created.

However it is advised for residents with larger items which cannot be stored safely to use the council’s Bulky Waste collection service which continues to run as normal.

Anahita Hossein-Pour - Local Democracy Reporter

April 20, 2020