Paul and I had an interesting walk-about in the ward on Monday afternoon with some staff from the Council’s trade waste section.

 We looked at how bins along Staplehurst Road are managed (we’d love to get them hidden away off the pavement, but we’re short of options given the lay-out) and also at the shops on Manor Lane and Burnt Ash Road, plus the Southbrook Mews ‘back lane’ which is a regular dumping spot.

Every business has to make arrangements to dispose of their waste, and if they’re not using the Council’s service they have to notify the Council of how they’re disposing of the waste (for example, they might be using a commercial firm like Biffa or Cleanaway).   I was pleased to hear that businesses in Lee Green have arrangements in place, and the Council monitors this regularly.

We also took a look at the recycling banks under the railway bridge at Manor Lane, which I’ve been concerned about for a while.   They tend to get very full at weekends - and not just with recycling!    Fortunately, they’re now being emptied twice a week, including on a Monday, so they were pretty empty when we visited.   I’ll keep an eye on them, but if you notice they’ve become a problem again, do let me know.

All in all, a useful walk-about with some officers who clearly knew their stuff.