Extra leaf sweeping teams are taking to the streets to tackle the fallen leaves this autumn and keep the borough as safe as possible for residents.

Because Ealing is a beautifully green and leafy borough in the spring and summer it inevitably gets a high volume of fallen leaves, which when wet could cause a slip or a fall.

Greener Ealing Ltd (GEL), Ealing Council’s in-house waste, recycling and grounds maintenance service, is prioritising the clear-up of the leaves. The leaf clear-up will make key public places safer, starting with areas outside schools, hospitals and day centres where the borough’s most vulnerable residents may be walking, before moving on to shopping areas and train stations.

The street sweepers will also be clearing steep hills and streets identified as having the heav-iest leaf fall, and anywhere that leaves are thought to pose a risk of causing roads to flood.

An extra 38 sweepers are on hand to help the crews working across the borough during the leaf fall period, which can last up to three months depending on the weather.

Councillor Deirdre Costigan, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “Ealing is well-known for being leafy and green which is fantastic in spring and summer but can cause a bit of a nuisance for some people come the autumn. This is why we have dedicated teams working hard to keep the borough’s streets clean and free from slip hazards.”

Residents can also request a spot clearance in areas that have become congested and slippery through the build-up of leaves or the possibility of flooding.

To coincide with the leaf fall, residents are being reminded that the council offers a fortnightly chargeable garden waste collection service.

Prior to leafing season GEL operates a weeding programme, which runs from March to September. The council has taken the service in-house so this was the first year that GEL has carried out this task for the council, following its launch in July 2020.

The weeds are treated with an environmentally friendly spray, and it is not harmful to animals. The spray has to be applied in suitable weather conditions to give it the best chance of working. On occasions the application had to be suspended because of heavy rainfall, undoing some of the hard work. However, the programme for this year is now complete.

Volunteers

Once again, we welcome contributions from our army of volunteer residents. More than 250 of you requested community sacks last year to fill up with leaves from your street, either working alone or teaming up with neighbours. Should you wish to apply for some community sacks please apply via our volunteer website Do Something Good. Please use this link for ordering sacks as well as letting us know when you are finished, and we will remove them as soon as we are able to. These are for street cleansing only and not household items please.