Street Cleaning
We clean all public roads and footpaths, wash down pavements in the town centres and empty litter bins as part of our street cleaning service.
Our services
- We regularly clean all public roads and footpaths and remove dog mess and leaves at the same time.
- We regularly wash down pavements in the town centres using disinfectant.
- We closely monitor the standard of street cleaning, with the support of Encams, an environmental charity.
- We offer a free bulky refuse collection service for household items, for example, sofas, wardrobes and cookers.
- We empty litter bins to stop them overflowing.
- We pick up drugs- or sex-related rubbish - call 020 7926 8888.
- Our in-house team, Lambeth Grimebusters, regularly clean chewing gum from pavements.
- We fight against enviro-crimes, such as fly-tipping and actively pursue the offenders.
Requesting a service
To request a service, please call 020 7926 9000, email StreetCareCallCentre@lambeth.gov.uk or use our online street cleaning and sweeping request form.
What you can do to help
- Use the on-street recycling banks. For items that cannot be recycled, use the on-street litter bins.
- If you've got a hedge outside your house, make sure it doesn't obstruct the path: overgrown hedges outside houses are a hazard to people walking by and make it difficult to clean the pavement.
- Clean up your dog's mess: dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets face a fine of up to £1,000.
- Let us know if you see a litter bin that has been damaged or is overflowing.
- Don't dump your old sofa or other bulky waste on the street, use our free bulky refuse collection service to have it picked up and disposed of properly. You can also take it to Lambeth Household Recycling Centre on Vale Street, West Norwood, or to Smuggler's Way in Wandsworth. Dumping bulky items on the street is illegal. Anyone caught dumping bulky waste risks fines of up to £50,00 and up to 5 years in prison if convicted.
- Do not pay a doorstep contractor to collect your bulky waste as they are likely to illegally dump it elsewhere in the borough.
Road spillage
We clean roads to remove glass and debris from road traffic accidents or oil spillage, usually in response to a call for assistance from the Police or Fire Brigade. We also remove illegal rubbish dumps - see fly-tipping. To report spillage please contact us.
Dead animals
Street Care remove dead animals from the public highway and Environmental Health can remove them from private land. See public health and pest control for more information. To report a dead animal on the highway please contact us.
Our service standards
- In each area, we try to sweep the streets on the same day that household rubbish is collected.
- We clean all public roads and footpaths to an acceptable standard (as defined by the Environmental Protection Act) up to seven days a week giving more attention to very busy streets.
- We remove illegal rubbish dumps when the streets are cleaned.
- We remove street litter, pigeon and dog mess when the streets are cleaned.
- We spray weeds on highways three times a year with an approved weed-killer.
- We provide a night-time cleansing service seven nights a week in Lambeth's main town centres.
Who cleans the streets?
Veolia Environmental Services are our contractors and they clean the streets in the borough on our behalf.
Market cleaning
We make sure our market areas are kept clean.
To ensure our markets are maintained to the highest standards of cleanliness we have introduced a waste management service within the market using electric barrows and compactors. We also have a dedicated team of sweepers in the markets that continually patrol the area looking for litter.
At the beginning of each day, the market area is thoroughly washed using a high powered jetting system and detergent to kill off any unsavoury smells and ensure the experience of shopping in the market is as pleasurable as possible.
If you wish to report a problem with the cleaning in the markets please call 020 7926 9000 or email StreetCareCallCentre@lambeth.gov.uk.