Keeping it Clean

People want clean streets. The MORI report Physical Capital: Liveability in 2005, shows that public concerns about quality of life remain focused on street crime. The report also suggests that work by central and local government is now being recognised by the public.

Improvements have been made over the last years, as shown in the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England (LEQSE) that measures 12,000 sites to assess the cleanliness of streets and open spaces in England. It shows that improvements have been made in cleansing performance particularly since the introduction of the BV199 performance indicator. This indicator has been expanded to Ie graffiti, fly posting and fly-tipping.
LEQSE Ies measurement of:

Litter – synthetic materials often associated with smoking, eating and drinking that are improperly discarded by members of the public or are spilt during waste management operations.

Detritus – small, broken down particles of synthetic and natural materials such as mud, rotted leaf and vegetable residues, Ih if left encourages weed growth and damage to the fabric of the streets.

Refuse – ordinarily meaning ‘waste or rubbish’, Iing household and commercial waste. Local authorities have a legal duty to clear refuse and litter from the land they are responsible for such as streets, parks, playgrounds and pedestrianised areas.

Fly-posting is generally described as the display of advertising material on buildings and street furniture without the consent of the owner.

Fly-tipping is the illegal disposal of waste on land.

Flattened chewing gum is the most common form of staining with accumulations becoming extreme in locations where people congregate. It is also very costly to remove.

'Food on the go' litter Ies disposable containers branded with an outlet’s name or logo, such as pizza boxes, burger packaging, sandwich packets, plastic cutlery and drinks cups.

Smoking-related litterIes cigarette butts Ih can take anything from 18 months to 500 years to break down into their raw ingredients and to be absorbed into the environment. Not only is this kind of litter unsightly, it is also difficult to clean up.

Drugs-related litter Ies needles, syringes, foils, swabs, spoons, plastic bottles and cans. Although widespread incidences of drugs-related litter are rare, problem hotspots do occur and discarded needles and syringes cause alarm.

Graffiti is a term Ih refers to any marking illegally made on walls and other surfaces. Despite graffiti being common in areas such as towns and cities, it is not a major problem in comparison to other issues such as litter. However, it takes only a small amount of graffiti to have a dramatic effect on an area, by creating an impression of neglect. This adverse effect applies, not only to the place, but to the people living there.