Cleaner, Greener Oxford

The Cleaner, Greener campaign went to East Oxford in July 2010 with the aim of reducing the amount of fly-tipping, litter and fly-posting in this area. The campaign has concentrated on the Cowley Road from The Plain to Magdalen Road.

We have encouraged residents to continue recycling and tackle the problem of inappropriately stored waste.

Oxford City Council staff carry out early morning litter picks as well as emptying bins, sweeping around benches, bike racks, telephone boxes and shop fronts in the Cowley Road area. We also clear up any dog fouling, as well as sweeping paths manually and with the mechanical road sweeper.

Litter bins are also emptied late afternoon as well as clearing any visible rubbish from the area.

Posters have been displayed in shops and businesses throughout East Oxford to raise awareness of the campaign. 

In East Oxford we have reviewed the frequency of our cleansing operations. Cowley Road and the initial areas of its side roads are now mechanically swept or hand swept and litter picked on a daily basis, seven days a week.
 
The remaining streets are litter picked on a weekly basis and litter bins are emptied twice a day. We have made a good start but there is still work to do to clean-up East Oxford.

Blackbird Leys - February 2010

The Cleaner, Greener Oxford campaign moved into Blackbird Leys in February 2010. In Blackbird Leys our aim was to reduce the number of abandoned vehicles and litter in the area. 

We also tackled inappropriate refuse disposal, flytipping and dog fouling.

During the Blackbird Leys campaign:

• Three fixed penalty notices were issued for dropping cigarette butts outside Blackbird Leys shops. They were paid within 14 days which meant the fine was £55.
• We are currently investigating five flytipping incidents with a view to taking legal action.
• We also issued 20 notices regarding side waste to households in Blackbird Leys. The notice is about the storage of waste and they have all complied with these notices.
• Six abandoned vehicles were dealt with. One was clamped for having no tax, one was removed from the streets and four were dealt with via their registered keepers.
• A deep-clean was carried out in the areas around Blackbird Leys shops, the Kassam Stadium and Gillians Park and 50 bags of rubbish were taken away.
• Patrols were carried out by Oxford City Council's dog warden who handed out leaflets to members of the public reminding them about disposing of waste correctly.
• Permanent signs have also been erected in Blackbird Leys to advise residents and visitors that litter enforcement remains a priority for Oxford City Council and that if people drop litter they could face a fine of up to £80.

Enforcement

Environmental Enforcement officers from Oxford City Council, Street Wardens and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) can all issue fixed penalty notices for environmental crimes.
 
They can impose on-the-spot fines to anyone caught dropping litter, discarding rubbish from a vehicle, throwing away cigarette ends or chewing gum as well as fly-posting and graffiti.

Report litter, flytipping and dog fouling online
 
If people fail to pay the £80 fine, they will face fines at the Magistrates Court of up to £2,500.

During the Cleaner, Greener campaign in November 2009, 119 fixed penalty notices were served. Between December 2009 and 10 February 2010, a further 112 fixed penalty notices have been issued.

City Centre - October 2010

We continue to tackle litter in the city centre to reduce the amount of cigarette butts, chewing gum and litter being dropped on the city's streets.

In October 2009 we added 28 litter bins to the city centre and have increased litter picking to 188 hours per week.

In 2008 we spent £26,000 removing chewing gum from Cornmarket Street alone and we estimate that a minimum of 100,000 cigarette ends are left on the streets of Oxford City Centre every week.

Cleaning the city centre costs us £1 million and each year our street cleaners empty 160 bins with 600 tonnes of litter being collected.

New signs for the City Centre

We have unveiled 16 new signs to help tackle litter in the city centre as part of the Cleaner, Greener campaign.

The signs advise residents and visitors that litter enforcement remains a priority for us and that if people drop litter they could face a fine of up to £80.

The signs will be placed in the main streets in Oxford around litter hotspots including Queen Street, Cornmarket Street and Broad Street.

Poster campaign

We are encouraging businesses in the city centre to put up the posters below to spread Cleaner, Greener message:

 Cigarette Poster (994kB PDF)
Chewing Gum Poster (934kB PDF)
Litter Poster (1059kB PDF)

Page last reviewed 1 November 2011