Across the country, cleaning up litter and rubbish from streets, parks, highways and public spaces costs councils around £1 billion a year – money that could be better spent elsewhere. That’s why residents are being encouraged to ensure that all their litter goes in the bin when they are out and about in the borough over Christmas.

30 million tonnes of litter are collected from streets in England every year – enough to fill Wembley Stadium to the brim four times over. Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure explains how important for local people to take responsibility for their rubbish: “Local people in Ealing rightly expect a clean and litter-free local environment and our street services work hard to ensure unsightly litter, grime and fly-tipping is tackled head-on.

“There’s no better gift to your local streets than to make sure your litter and household waste is disposed of properly. It’s about having pride in your local neighbourhood and binning your rubbish. Local streets and pavements will be better for all who use them and you will avoid potential fines of hundreds of pounds as well.”

Like all local authorities across the country, Ealing also works to combat fly-tipping and tackles those who illegally and irresponsibly dump rubbish on the borough’s streets.

Councillor Mahfouz continues: “The vast majority of residents act appropriately when disposing of their waste but the council has a specialist task force dedicated to tackling fly-tipping and cracking down on irresponsible individuals who flout the rules. Since we introduced our dedicated enforcement team we have handed out over 7,700 fixed penalty notices to offenders.

“It is your responsibility to make proper use of the council’s rubbish and recycling collection services and dispose of waste in the correct manner at all times. If illegally dumped waste is traced back to your property, you could be fined hundreds – or even thousands of pounds.”

Bulky and large amounts of waste can be disposed of in one of the following ways:

• Use one of the council’s services – you can dispose of DIY waste at Greenford Re-use and Recycling Centre or use the council’s bulky waste collection service. More information is available at www.ealing.gov.uk/recycling

• Use a skip company approved by the council. All the approved skip companies are listed on the council’s website at www.ealing.gov.uk/skips

• Hire a reputable waste clearance firm registered with the Environment Agency. You can check if a waste clearance firm is registered by calling 08708 506 506 or using an online register at www.wastecarriersregistration.service.gov.uk/registrations/search

To report fly-tipped rubbish or anyone fly-tipping visit www.ealing.gov.uk/reportit or call the dedicated hotline on 020 8825 8825.

Visit Keep Britain Tidy to find out more about helping contribute to a litter free local neighbourhood.