Notting Hill Carnival Clear Up

The Council's clean-up operation got under way within minutes of the close of the Carnival. A team of street cleaners, refuse staff and waste managers along with a huge fleet of some 30 vehicles leading the clean-up.

The area of the Carnival Clear Up operation covers all roads and footways in the area bounded to the south by Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate and the Borough boundaries to the East, North and West.

A comprehensive plan for cleansing has been submitted by SITA UK Ltd - the Council's refuse collection and street cleansing contractor. The plan is based on the previous three Carnival clear up operations and has been reviewed by council staff and the Police. SITAs plan follows established practices where teams are allocated to specific areas to cleanse. Additional teams are tasked with dealing with problem areas and provide back up to the other teams. SITA commenced the clear-up operation as soon as the Police gave the instruction to go in, the Police make this judgement based on how many Carnival visitors are still in the area.

This year we will make an effort to separate recyclable materials from the rest of the rubbish.

The cleansing on Sunday/Monday morning was completed by 10am. The Monday night/Tuesday morning cleansing operation is much heavier as Monday is usually the busier day. This operation therefore continues for longer, the priority for the teams are to ensure that the bus routes are clear and the market areas in Portobello Road and Golborne Road are ready for the days trading.

The whole of the Carnival area needs to be cleared of the bulk of litter and rubbish by Tuesday midday, and restored to the standards laid down in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, code of practice by Thursday evening. An array of equipment is deployed to achieve this including mechanical sweepers that are used to repeatedly cleanse the gutters and the centre islands of all roads. High-pressure pavements washers are used to remove foods and liquid stains from the pavements.

During the two weeks following the Carnival, SITA will also use footway degreasing machines to remove grease and oil stains on the worst affected pavements. Rainwater gullies are also cleansed and flushed after carnival.

The Council also operates a basement cleansing service to flush and disinfect basement areas at the request of the owners. This service is operated for up to 14 days after the Carnival and is supervised by a Council Officer.

This service can be requested by phoning Streetline on 020 7361 3001.