• I WRITE to ask CNJ readers to take part in the council’s new survey on recycling, waste and street cleaning in Camden.

Alongside collections and sweeping, the council also collects garden waste and bulky items, with free or discounted collections for residents who are aged over 65 or receive 100 per cent council tax support.

Our hard-working teams clear streets of leaves in the autumn, and in the winter we grit the roads (and in recent years have minimised fly-tipping of Christmas trees by setting up collection points for these to be recycled).

The financial regime we are operating under dates back to 2014 when the council was forced to make spending reductions following cuts inflicted by the government.

From 2017 we had £5million less to devote to this area. Despite this, it remains vital to keep our neighbourhoods clean and do our bit to address the environmental crisis.

Unfortunately the government plans to cut councils further still; several local authorities round the country have even gone bust.

Camden is a diverse borough with sometimes several different forms of recycling and rubbish collection required within one short stretch of street given the variety in types of buildings.

Innovation and responsiveness is essential. Over the last few years we have made numerous changes to adapt within straitened circumstances.

We have increased the number of lorry collections where necessary, trialled collection alternatives where possible, such as at the Belsize village “streatery”, and increased the number of staff, such as on West End Lane thanks to the allocation of resources by the three councillors for West Hampstead.

We have brought in extra enforcement officers to take action against those who drop litter and fly-tip. And we have introduced new powers to take on people who let their dogs foul and fail to pick up.

But we need to continually adapt, and we need to hear from Camden residents about where we can do better and about where things also go well. Please head to our survey located here: https://urlis.net/8cub5x9d

CLLR ADAM HARRISON
Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Camden