Street Cleaning Services

Cleansing Rapid Response Units

We deal with a range of litter problems throughout West Dunbartonshire. We are responsible for keeping roads clean and litter-free within the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act. We are also responsible for other public spaces, such as parks, play areas, and beaches. The service is provide by emptying litterbins, a routine sweeping process, in addition to ad hoc sweeping where additional demands require it.

How Often Do We Clean The Streets?

We base our street cleaning programme on perceived need with frequencies of cleaning varying depending on location. We do not have the resources to sweep all streets at the same frequency. If you think an area has fallen below the high standard of cleanliness you expect, tell us and we will respond by inspecting the area. If we agree that the area falls short of the standard, we will bring the area back up to standard within a reasonable period according to the particular zone that the area relates to. If you would like to find out about the cleaning frequency of your street, please contact us.

What Are Our Standards?

Because of the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse and as part of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, street cleaning has to be performed through a variety of approaches. There are four grades of Street Cleanliness Standards:

• Grade A - no litter of refuse.

• Grade B - predominantly free of litter and refuse apart from small items.

• Grade C - widespread distribution of litter with minor accumulations.

• Grade D - heavily littered with significant accumulations.

Areas are split into five main zones. The zones are used to categorise the type of land, reflecting how busy they are for pedestrian traffic and how much litter is likely to be generated:

• Zone 1 covers town centres etc and areas where large numbers of people congregate;

• Zone 2 covers high density residential areas.

• Zone 3 covers low density areas.

• Zone 4 covers mainly urban fringe and rural sites; and

• Zone 7 covers country roads linking towns or villages.

If you would like to find out about the cleaning frequency of your street, please contact us. We have published a leaflet on our Street Cleaning Services please click the link to view.

Litter

Our aim is to improve the environment of West Dunbartonshire by reducing the levels of litter, graffiti, and dog fouling. To help us to achieve this we have introduced a Litter Control Strategy in 2003 (Litter Control Strategy (link) to promote the message that the Council will 'Reclaim West Dunbartonshire' through various objectives. The strategy highlights legislative measure, fines, hazards, injuries, and the effects litter has on the community. The clear message is that littering is unacceptable socially and can be ended by a few simple measures.

Cleansing Rapid Response Unit

The teams will respond to complaints about litter, dog fouling, fly tipping, blood spillage, discarded needles, and removal of dead animals outdoors. We aim to respond to requests within 2 hours. If for any reason we cannot respond to your request, you will be given an explanation why.

To contact the Cleansing Rapid Response Unit telephone:

01389 772059 - during office hours
07917076733 - out of office hours

Litter Bins

Litter should always be deposited in the litter bins provided. We have located 150 additional litter bins throughout the West Dunbartonshire area. Council litter bins throughout West Dunbartonshire can accept bagged dog fouling and litter. If you feel a specific area would benefit from the installation of a litter bin or additional bins please contact us and we will be happy to assess the request.

Dog Fouling

It is an offence for any person in charge of a dog to fail to remove or dispose of any excrement after the dog has fouled in a public area. (See Fixed Penalty Notice - Link) To assist dog owners to clear away their dog mess we have purchased biodegradable poop scoop bags which are available free of charge. You can obtain the bags from:

Clydebank

Dumbarton

Vale of Leven Area

How Do I Complain About Dog Fouling?

You can phone us using the Cleansing Rapid Response on Telephone Number 01389 772059 to let us know if you find an area is subject to severe or persistent fouling by dogs. Our Litter Control Officers will investigate, take any necessary action to clean up the area and where possible, deal with the cause of the problem. Link Litter Control Officers

Fixed Penalty Notices

We employ two Litter Control Officers (Link to Litter Control Officers) who deal with issues relating to littering, dog fouling, and fly tipping. Litter Control Officers and the police have authority to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to anyone responsible for littering or failing to clean up after their dog had fouled in a public place. A dog fouling fixed penalty is £40 rising to £60 if not paid within 28 days of issue. The maximum penalty on conviction is £500. A litter fixed penalty is £50. The maximum penalty on conviction is £2,500.

Tackling Dog Fouling

We introduced a Litter Control Strategy to promote the message 'Reclaim West Dunbartonshire' through a combination of education, enforcement, and raising awareness. The clear message is that people who drop litter and fail to clean up after their pets have fouled are breaking the law. When dealing with litter and dog fouling issues the Council's Litter Control Officers will investigate complaints and monitor problem areas.

West Dunbartonshire Council introduced an Animated Education Programme for primary schools. This is a DVD called BINMAN and is aimed at Primary Four children to teach them from a young age about the negative effects littering has on the environment and the importance of re-cycling. This is being rolled out in schools and is believed to be a first in Scotland.

West Dunbartonshire Council's Litter Control Strategy has adopted a three-pronged approach to assist in addressing the problem of Dog Fouling. Firstly, appropriate signage is affixed in public areas to raise public awareness. Secondly, Bio-degradable "Poop Scoop" bags are available to dog owners, free of charge, through a variety of outlets including, Local Supermarkets, Libraries, CE Centres, Council Offices and local Police Offices. Thirdly, over 150 additional Street Litter Bins have been installed throughout the Council area. With the introduction of the Litter Control Strategy and the co-operation of the public, this will help create a better environment.

This strategic approach to tackling dog fouling has been recognised nationally and the Council won a silver Green Apple Environmental Award. This award was presented at the House of Commons in November 2005.

Fly Tipping

Fly Tipping is illegal and any one who dumps anything on land (public or private) is committing an offence and may be fined up to £40,000. Grounds Maintenance staff deal with complaints and enquiries about littering and fly tipping on public and private ground. We set up a Joint Working Agreement between Grounds Maintenance and Environmental Health to make sure that litter and fly tipping issues are dealt with appropriately. This avoids duplication of work, provides a better monitoring procedure, and quicker service delivery to the public.

The Litter Control Officers, in conjunction with Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Dumb Dumpers Campaign have devised a leaflet for residents in areas where fly tipping occurs. The leaflet outlines the problems advises how they can contact the Dumb Dumpers hot line to report fly tipping. The Litter Control Officers have identified hot spots where fly tipping occurs and have affixed Dumb Dumpers signs in those areas to raise awareness of the penalties.

There has been an increase in the number of fly tipping complaints received due to an increase in public awareness brought about by the Dumb Dumpers Campaign.

Graffiti Removal

Graffiti is a rising problem in West Dunbartonshire and blank walls, fences, lampposts, bridges, phone boxes, road signage and bus shelters are usually targeted. It would be helpful when you contact us if you give us specific details of the location where there is graffiti and we will identify responsibility for removal. Some areas may not be the responsibility of the Council. Responsibility for removing the graffiti rests with the owner of a property. This could be West Dunbartonshire Council, businesses, homeowners, utilities and advertising companies. A majority of insurance companies include cover for criminal damage.

We are looking at taking a joint approach when dealing with the hot spot areas for littering, fly tipping and graffiti through the Anti Social Behaviour Task Group. This group is made up of representatives from various departments, for example Fire & Rescue Services, Police, Grounds Maintenance, which meets monthly to discuss ongoing issues.

Monitoring our Standards

We try to maintain the highest standards in our street cleaning work. We monitor:

• The percentage of streets cleaned to the required standards.
• Spending on street cleaning.

We report on our performance in these and other areas at our Quarterly Performance Meetings and publish our targets for improving the service.