The state of the streets really isn’t the sexiest subject. Most people don’t really want to think about bins and litter unless they have to. And yet it’s massively important.
Just walking around Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, you can see that there is a problem with the amount of rubbish flowing freely along our pavements.
On street corners on our estates you can see piles of furniture just left on empty spaces. What does this say about the way we view our home?
Yes, funding for street cleaning has been cut massively. The council blames the government’s austerity measures since 2010, when Labour also regained control of Southwark. But people also have to take responsibility for their own streets – and help keep them clean by not littering or fly-tipping in the first place.
We should be grateful to street-cleaning volunteers the Litterati, but mostly to the unsung heroes – the 169 street cleaners still on the Southwark payroll who are doing their best in an uphill battle.