Astonishing numbers fined for fly-tipping in Ealing

Ealing Council’s crackdown on fly-tipping is continuing to deliver results for the borough.

Almost 4,000 fixed penalty notices have been issued since the introduction of specialist enforcement teams last August, and in the same period the number of fly-tips reported to the council each week has dropped by 46%.

The council has taken one of the most proactive stances on tackling fly-tipping in the country, which is on the increase nationally. Last June, Ealing was one of the first boroughs to adopt the higher rate fixed penalty notice of £400 as part of a London-wide crack down to keep the capital clean.

Four specialist enforcement teams currently operate in the borough. They are responsible for discouraging, catching, and cleaning up after selfish individuals who flout the law by dumping waste.

The council set up this provision in direct response to the concerns of residents about fly-tipping in some areas of the borough. The teams are operating in addition to the council’s normal street cleansing service that already deals with fly-tipping.

Cllr Bassam Mahfouz, the council’s cabinet member for environment, transport and leisure said: “There is never an excuse to fly-tip. Nationally there has been a significant increase in fly-tipping, but in Ealing, we’ve taken immediate and clear action that is achieving results.

“I welcome news that since the introduction of our fly-tip enforcement crews, we have seen a huge 46% drop in the number of fly-tips around the borough and nearly 4,000 fines issued.

“The message is hitting home to the irresponsible people who think it’s ok to leave their mess for others to deal with.  They risk receiving an unwelcome notice through their letter box with a fine of £400, which if ignored could result in a prosecution, criminal record, being named and shamed and a fine running into thousands of pounds.”

The council’s free app, Ealing 24/7 also allows residents to report street and environmental issues quickly and easily using their smartphone. For further info, visit www.ealing.gov.uk/reportit

Residents can also report cases of fly-tipping online, or by calling the council’s hotline on 020 8825 8825.

To avoid possible fines, it is important for residents to check whether a waste clearance company is licensed and legal. They can do this by entering their details at https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register.

More information about the borough’s reuse and recycling centres, how to arrange a bulky waste collection and how to find scheduled collection days, is available at www.ealing.gov.uk/recycling.

The council also offers a bulky waste collection service and will collect up to eight items for £40. Residents can share bulky collections with friends and neighbours, but the items must all be collected from one location.

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Storm Doris Update for Ealing

UPDATED: 21:12 24/12

Details on fallen trees around the borough and action Ealing Council is taking to deal with them.  This post will be updated with the latest information.

Currently across the borough, we now have had 51 (formerly 37) reports of fallen trees.  Each incident is assessed and prioritised:

Priority A: Trees/branches that present an imminent risk to the public and those blocking major roads (10 incidents) – ALL NOW CLEARED

Priority B: Trees/branches that present an unreasonable risk to the public and those blocking roads and footpaths (21 incidents) – 3 to be done tomorrow

Prioirity C: Trees/branches that present an unreasonable risk but are away from roads and footpaths (12 incidents)

8 other trees reported and being inspected.

4 teams have been working on behalf of Ealing Council today targetting the Priority A incidents.  These have now all been cleared.

Work on Priority B incidents have mostly been completed and the three remaining trees will be completed Saturday.

Priority C and any D incidents will be started once all over the above has been cleared.

Remember, there are still many hazardous trees across the borough and the Council urges the public to be extremely cautious around these obstructions.  Aside from the obvious fallen trees and branches there are potentially many broken branches caught within the tree canopies so please exercise appropriate caution.  At this stage it looks like the clean up will take up the majority, if not the whole of next week too.

If you wish to report a damaged tree or other incident to Ealing Council, you can now do so using the new Ealing 24/7 app from the Apple and Android App stores, searching for “Ealing 24/7”.

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Residents urged to take care in cold snap

A weather warning has been issued for London with very low temperatures and heavy frosts expected over the next few days. Residents are being asked to take care in the cold snap and to look out for elderly neighbours.

The Met Office has issued an alert about cold weather, with the lowest temperatures expected to occur between 6am on Wednesday, 4 January and Friday, 6 January.

Council gritters are on standby and will be sent out to grit primary routes across the borough to keep main roads moving whenever freezing conditions are forecast. Drivers are also being asked to take extra care.

The council is also asking residents to be good neighbours during the cold weather by checking that elderly or vulnerable people in their area are safe, warm and have essential supplies.

Residents who are concerned about keeping their homes warm can call Ealing Council’s Cold Weather Support in Ealing (COSIE) helpline to receive tips and information on how to keep their homes warm and their energy bills down. Additional support is also available for those who are struggling to pay their energy bills. Residents can call the COSIE Freephone number on 0800 083 2265 between Monday-Friday, from 9.30am until 5.30pm.

Anyone who is concerned about someone sleeping rough during the cold weather – or at any other time – can report it using the national Streetlink website http://www.streetlink.org.uk/ or by calling 0300 500 0914. The information will be sent to the local St Mungo’s outreach service, which is contracted by the council to contact and help rough sleepers (people who are sleeping outside such as in doorways, disused vehicles or stairwells).  Please give as much information as possible about the location at which the person is sleeping.

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Latest recycling figures for Ealing show another big increase

Ealing Council has released its latest recycling figures for July, the second month of the new rubbish and recycling scheme, indicating that 54% of all household waste was recycled.

This compares to 43% in July last year, a massive increase of 11% points.

Following the launch of the alternate weekly wheelie bin collection service in June, the latest figures highlight that a growing number of households across Ealing recycling more at home.

More residents than ever are also taking part in the food waste recycling service. Before the service change, 35,000 green food waste bins were in use in the borough. An additional 9500 have been handed out since the service change. In June and July Ealing Council collected 1122 tonnes of food waste compared to the same period in 2015, which was 795. This is an difference of 327 tonnes.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure, said: “These latest figures are a clear indication that the new service is helping households across the borough to recycle more and to do their part in helping the environment.  I would like to thank all of our residents who have used their blue wheelie bins and green food waste bins.

“The feedback I’ve received is that residents love how easy it is to recycle and it encourages everyone to get involved and throw away less. It’s clearly reflected in the massive uptake in recycling across the borough, thank you.”

Ealing Council is also reminding residents that there will be no change to their collection over the bank holiday – with crews working on Bank Holiday Monday. Residents should put their wheelie bins out on their normal collection day.

Residents can check their collection day online the council’s website at

More information about the new service, including collection schedules, can be found at www.ealing.gov.uk/bins

Green food waste bins can be ordered at www.ealing.gov.uk/reportit

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Looking for a safe way to secure your bike ?

Do you own bikes which would benefit from a secure, dry and tidy place to be stored outside? Ealing Council has secured funding to subsidise a small number of home ‘bike bunkers’ for Ealing residents which can comfortably hold two adult bikes and one folding or child’s bike.

The bunker needs to be sited to the rear or to the side of your property and would be bolted to the floor. It measures approximately 2m by 0.9m (6ft x3ft) and is painted in a garden friendly colour.

All you have to pay is £120 inclusive of VAT and then our supplier will arrange with you a suitable date for installation.

In order to be considered for a bike bunker, please complete and submit your application using the following link https://www.research.net/r/HPGB89Z by the 22 May 2016.

We will be in touch if you have been successful to arrange an initial site visit to make sure it will be possible to install at your property 

For more information, please contact:travelgreen@ealing.gov.uk.

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Have a recycled Christmas

Ealing Council is reminding residents how easy it is to recycle over the Christmas season.

Most families throw away much more food than normal over Christmas, but turkey bones, coffee grounds and leftover Christmas dinner can all be disposed of in the green food bin instead of the black refuse sack or bin. And freezing leftovers for another day saves money as well as reduces waste. Food disposed of using the green bin is used to create energy and fertilizer and disposing of it this way stops the refuse bin from smelling.

Lots of common household items can be recycled from home, including plastic drink bottles, meat trays, tubs and cartons, as well as plastic toiletry and cleaning bottles.

Cardboard packaging from toys, chocolate boxes and food packaging along with glass bottles, drink and food cans and aerosols can also be given another lease of life. And old Christmas cards, envelopes and wrapping paper can also be recycled, but only if they don’t contain foil or glitter.

Residents that are having a pre-Christmas clear out of clothes, furniture and appliances can recycle or reuse in several different ways. Furniture and working electrical items can be reused at the Furnish Re-Use Centre, Greenford. For more information, go towww.sbhg.co.uk/furnish. Unwanted clothes, textiles and shoes (tied in pairs) can also be placed in a plastic bag in the green box or donated using one of the clothes banks in the borough.

People that live in flats or on red routes can also recycle a wide range of items using either communal recycling bins or clear sacks.

This year, Ealing Council is again offering a free recycling service for real Christmas trees. Once again, residents will be able to leave their tree with their recycling and refuse on their normal collection day, or take it to a number of drop-off points around the borough.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure, said: “Christmas is the season for giving and recycling is a great way to give to your local community and to the environment. Ealing spent £8million on landfill charges last year; money that could be better spent on our local area. By recycling, residents are helping to reduce our waste disposal bill and are also saving valuable resources and energy.

“When the new recycling and refuse service starts next year, it will be even easier to do the right thing, because all recycling, except for food waste, will go in one wheelie bin, with refuse in another. This will mean that residents will be able to recycle even more, helping to keep our costs down and streets clean.”

To find out what can be recycled from Ealing homes over Christmas, go towww.recyclemystuff.org.uk.

For tips on portion sizes and using leftovers, go to www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

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Do something good

Ealing Council has launched a new initiative, Bubble, aimed at helping residents connect with each other and make a difference to where they live.

Bubble is about where people live, what they like to do, and changes they want to make to improve their communities. One way of doing this is through a new website www.dosomethinggood.org.uk.

The website is somewhere for residents to connect with other people, groups and resources. It will help people looking to get involved with a project already happening, anyone hoping to start something new and is looking for people to join in and anyone looking for help for themselves.

Until 22 February, to help people get started, the council is offering to help pay towards the cost of the project, with sums of £50 – £500 available.

Successful applications will need to demonstrate how their plans will make a difference to the community, bring local people together and what the money will be used for.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “The new site is the way forward for people with great ideas to connect with the people and tools to make their plans happen. It doesn’t have to be something big, it could be something small, it just needs to be something good. The fund is only available for the next month, and we really hope people come forward so we can help them, and show others how easy it is to get on and make a difference to where they live.”

Applications are available from the neighbourhood governance team via email at yourwardmatters@ealing.gov.uk or call 020 8825 6426 for more information. Details are also available through bubble www.dosomethinggood.org.uk/funding.  Applications need to be made by 10pm Sunday, 22 February. Successful applicants will be informed a few weeks later.

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