From tomorrow (July 1) Thanet council will be making changes to the way it operates street cleaning and bin emptying.
Crews already work seven days a week all year round and this will continue. However, the council is dividing Thanet into five zones and on any given day there will be crews working across all five areas. Their responsibilities will be emptying litter and dog bins on the streets and in parks or open spaces, clearing fly-tipping and loose waste from council housing communal bin stores, as well as general litter picking and tidying up.
There will be at least two manual street cleaners working in the towns, plus two in Cliftonville, every day. In the summer Thanet council will still employ additional staff specifically for beach cleaning, working from 6am. At peak times they finish at 8pm.
On top of the daily street cleansing, the council is setting up a rolling rota for the deep cleaning teams. They’ll operate three days per week and rotate around the different areas in the district. They’ll work alongside Environmental Operatives, who are trained to do numerous tasks and use various types of equipment. Together they’ll remove graffiti, spray alleyways for weeds and tackle areas that need a bit more attention.
The mechanical sweeper will be out every day, covering different parts of the district. The beach tractor also operates daily, as does the crew that is responsible for emptying the large 1280 litre bins. The bulky waste crew operates Monday to Friday with pickups focused on one of the five zones each day.
To make sure crews focus on emptying the bins that need it most, they’re feeding data into an app. It will show where the bins are frequently full so crews know to empty them more often. This app is currently just for internal use currently but in time, residents will be able to see this data on TDC’s website, check when a bin was last emptied and report a full bin if it’s not already scheduled to be emptied on the same or the next day.
Thanet council says that by sharing the information it is hoped residents will gain a greater understanding about the way the service works. It also ensures crews can be more responsive.
The council has also launched a dedicated online area where residents can view real-time information about bin collections – including the reason why a bin may have been missed or if a bin was uncollected because of a problem accessing the road. To sign up and create an account, visit wasteservices.thanet.gov.uk
That’s a really good and encouraging plan. We look forward to seeing it implemented and the improvement to our environment.
what do roadsweepers look like ? i have never seen one
You should get out more. During daylight.
We see one two or three times a week but they never use a broom just pick up bits and pieces with their little grabbers
This seems quite a good way of getting hold of litter.
They are an endangered species in Thanet. They don’t often use brooms to sweep up all the dog-ends littered all over the pavements which would make a huge difference in the cleanliness. Just using litter-pickers for bigger pieces of litter doesn’t do much for that.
I saw two sweeping and weeding the streets in Ramsgate Town today! They were doing a good job but I didn’t recognise them and wonder if there temps for the summer!
Bravo 👏 finally TDC is listening to the 5,000 + complains!
Don’t forget smaller areas like footpaths, parks, woods and ally ways.
Thank you for the detailed info it’s appreciated to see how we can help the environment! With their assistance.
Yay there is a god! If TDC keep to their word what an improvement we will see.
Perhaps they might finally sweep the roads on St Peters Estate? However I doubt it!
I’ve seen the road picker on the St. Peter estate but I haven’t seeing him for a while, I hope he comes back because he used to do a good job including the footpaths and ally ways.
He was really good but is no longer doing street sweeping. There is a woman based in St. Peter’s village who does venture over the railway bridge but her route is a part of Beacon Road only as far as Grange Road.
She doesn’t do any of the side roads.
Oh yes Jenny I’ve seen her once I think, if I wasn’t so old I will do this little job specially summer time, is in the outdoors and you’re not confined to just one area, I imagine you can see a lot of things happening lol.
Thanks for that info 👍
I hate to be negative but lets hope TDC deliver on this one.I have lived in Thanet for 10 years and my street has never been swept.Go up to Westwood Cross and get all those multi national companies to clean their car parks and surroundinv roads.
Hi Rick,
My street was never swept but I then moaned on the TDC website and the next day the street cleaner was sweeping it!
Great now ban salt,pepper and sugar sachets,tissues from takeaways,platic and wooden spoons,forks and knives etc
Kill weeds and clear up graffiti as well. The low standards set by the council create the shoddy appearence.Its the shoddy appearence that encourages certain people to throw litter.
Surely the first thing to ban is smoking? It causes the nastiest form of litter imaginable.
Rick, Westwood cross and the surrounding retail parks employ daily cleaning staff 7 days a week they also clean the immediate areas. A lot of litter bins are being filled with domestic waste and glass bottles and discarded needles.
It is good that changes will happen it would be good to have a late bin emptying along Margate seafront and high street and the council to talk to KFC McDonald’s and peters fish factory to get one of their staff to collect there takeaway throw outs that people leave on the streets it’s good to see an attempt for more recycling the bins along Margate seafront are not big enough especially when busy these companies or small businesses in catering should pay for collection of their rubbish filling up TDC bins and get a private operator to take their rubbish away many of the public are not interested in recycling no good relying on these volunteers particularly on Margate beach to be political that’s what the rise up gang are about it’s not about the environment it’s about embarrassing the current leadership of TDC
Do thanet council clean streets 🤔 l last time I when on line and asked for the streets in Garlinge to be cleaned they sent a driver round to clean the streets on a Saturday when most people had parked for the weekend so no roads got cleaned .
Great news TDC. And residents, let’s do our bit too by not dropping the litter in the first place and perhaps, if you’re fit and active, keeping the area out the front of your home litter free.
to phylis , i leave walking the streets at night to people like you ,smartarse
What are you referring to, “real world”? You don’t seem to be aware of things so Phyllis’ comment seems perfectly reasonable.
Real world!! You do need to get out a bit or look out of your windows a bit, we get a litter picker how often not sure as have seen him/her on different days during the month, we also have a machine street sweeper coming round occasionally I see the vehicle from my window in a cul-de-sac in ramsgate. I open my eyes and pull the curtains open to see the REAL WORLD outside, maybe you need to as well, I actually agree with Marva & Phyllis for once ladies.
Are they actually going to get out of their vans and do some work? That might be a good start.
Unnecessary comment.
Looks like TDC are trying to mo e on from Hormer rule already. Good luck TDC. But that’s not kind ourselves thanet is a dump.
I drive around kent and the uk and thanet is by far the worst place.
Weeds growing along roads, buildings, footpaths etc lots of litter dumping of waste by roads.
Hopefully if TDC can start to make an improvement than the people of thanet might follow suit.
Touched a nerve, did I?
If you experienced more sunshine, some of it might permeate your soul.
I get out every day, usually on my Mobility Scooter, and yesterday a large brown paper bag got stuck in a rear wheel! The biggest problem is people who are puzzled by Velcro, they don’t seem to understand that its meant to secure Sea Gull Proof bags, or the Red paper sack! This week I have wanted to contact TDC and report 2 houses that had filthed up my, and other roads but its impossible to do this using the TDC Online Contact form! I tried clicking on Fly Tippers, but it didn’t have anywhere to enter an address, Duurh!
I have suggested TDC fit a plastic coated notice to the inside of rented properties, and it is always tenants that filth up the roads, saying when their waste collection is, what to put in what bag, or bin. Perhaps then it may penetrate their skulls, that just putting your rubbish in a plastic bag will get it torn apart by foxes, or vermin, and is not acceptable! I also suggested a dedicated email address so people can report the address of someone who is a repeat offender, but thats too easy!
Hi Dumpton! With regards to people and the rubbish bags etc they will never change the way they throw out rubbish the majority of the time they just don’t think you can tell them what to do but 10 minutes later they will ignore everything they have been told. With regards to the council if you are able to phone them tell the telephonist when you get through that you wish to report the problem you have with neighbours rubbish bags/bins and you will be put through to usually a very understanding lady who will sort it out for you. I hope that you will find this helpful.
I don’t think putting signs up will make any difference in these roads full of bedsits and flats. There are too many people living on top of each other and that means more mess outside. We have several properties that is rented out like this in our street, one particular premises has continued to overload their wheelie bin with no lid for two decades with seagulls emptying it out all over the pavement which then blows up the road and into everyone’s front gardens. No matter how often that address is reported over the past twenty years plus it has made no difference. Bins without lids are never replaced either, TDC just are not bothered. Councillors do not live in this street in Cliftonville West and one now being the Mayor is also useless.
I think disposable BBQs should be banned. I’m sick of finding them discarded on the beach.
I’m hoping the new plans work and hopefully a sign that Thanet will improve post Homer!
I think most thanet residents are very good but sadly there is a minority of scum who make no effort. Most litter is created by the takeaway food outlets. Particularly Macdonald’s, costa and kfc. Pauls fish shop on margate seafront is also a culprit.
Let’s hope they find the funding to fix the three broken down mechanical sweepers in the depot in urgent need of repair, or replacement. We should have 4, we now have only 1 operational.
We need more bins not only the rubbish but the graffiti, would not be so bad if they were talented Ramsgate could be a great place if more money was spent on it
If TDC are short staffed there’s a good place I will recommend for recruitment… THE JOB CENTRE.. plenty of ppl needing jobs there, they have to start in the job market somewhere!!! 🤔
Hope they clear the rubbish along Sg Peter’s Rd from the College Rd junction to Drapers Close some of it has been there since xmas. Despite calls to the council.
It’s alright having a road sweeper but why don’t the council buy a gully dredger for the DRAINS WHICH ARE FULL OF LEAVES
Gulley-cleaning is a KCC responsibility not TDC but the blocked drains only get cleaned if you complain and complain repeatedly.If you persist one or two might get cleaned.
Jenny today 5/7/22 they are cleaning the drains with their hoover then wash machine which is first in a long time. In the pullman road estate off of Whitehall Road. For us it’s good news even if drainage has been working well. So it seems we are getting things done by the council it’s just a lot of us don’t see it, when their area is done they may be elsewhere during the work being done.
Or it could be that TDC is watching the weather and expect a lot of rain coming our way soon, blocked drains is a mayor issue when it’s heavy rain as it floods the roads, I usually take pics of the flooded road right in front of me because the drains need cleaning badly!
WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH . TDC FILLING THE GAPS AGAIN AND GIVING YOU SOMETHING TO READ
What do you suggest?