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New time bands for waste collection to be enforced in Tower Hamlets

After years of complaints, Tower Hamlets Council is implementing a stricter system for waste collection in the borough

Tower Hamlets Council plans to approve a new time-banded waste collection system for the borough, which would come into effect on the first of December 2024. 

The system will implement mandatory time slots for when waste and recycling can be put out on our busiest streets, aiming to keep high-traffic areas tidier.

Collections will be scheduled twice a day, seven days a week in the borough’s high streets, town centres and main commercial areas. These include Brick Lane, Whitechapel Road, Roman Road and Mile End road.

Businesses and residents will be allowed to put waste out for collection for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. The aim is to keep the streets clear and clean during the busier times of the day. 

The proposed time bands are 5:25–7:25 and 16:05–18:05. Leaving waste out for collection outside of these times could result in a fine of £80. 

Funds for the new system come from the £5 million waste service budget approved last year. Costs include hiring seventy-two more refuse workers, improved equipment and signage for the new rules. 

The budget was increased following a ‘tipping point’ for waste management in Tower Hamlets in 2023. Underfunding combined with an unclear system meant waste was not being properly managed, leading to fly-tipping, missed collections and litter. 

Refuse workers went on strike after a pay rise was refused in September 2023, leading to piles of rotting rubbish spilling out onto high streets. The council eventually agreed on the pay rise after a week, and the new budget was approved later that year to tackle the wider issue. 

During the 2012 Olympics, time-banded collection times were also implemented but were not enforceable and as a result had little effect. This time, the banding will have a legal framework attached to enforce penalty fines. 

Once the plans are officially approved, signage and information campaigns will be rolled out to inform the borough of the changes. 

When presented with the plans Mayor Lutfur Rahman said ‘It’s a good thing for our businesses, and for our residents. They have certainty, and we have our clean borough. Hopefully.’ 

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One thought on “New time bands for waste collection to be enforced in Tower Hamlets

  • Hackney Road was awful as well, one side of the street clean no rubbish and the other a complete rubbish tip! Two local authorities running a major road does not work properly when it come to planning

    Reply

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