Sweeping teams have been taking to the streets this week – and will continue over the coming weeks – to tackle the increase in fallen leaves.

With its tree-lined streets, beautiful parks and open spaces, Ealing gets a high volume of fallen leaves.

Teams will be prioritising the clear-up of the leaves on the basis of making key public places safer, starting with areas outside schools, hospitals and day centres before moving on to shopping areas and public transport stations. They will also be clearing steep hills and streets identified as having the heaviest leaf fall and anywhere that leaves are thought to pose a risk of causing roads to flood.

An extra 40 temporary road cleaners have been employed to help the crews working across the borough during the leaf fall period, which can last between five and eight weeks depending on the weather.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure, said: “Fallen leaves can become slippery in wet weather. The extra resources mean we can get to the problem areas quicker and respond to areas identified as a priority. We will be concentrating on keeping residents safe this autumn by tackling the high traffic areas, schools and places visited by some of our most vulnerable residents.”

The teams will be covering all known hot spots, but residents can request emergency clearances in areas that have become congested and slippery through the build-up of leaves or the possibility of flooding via the online form, or call 020 8825 6000.

Love your leaves

To coincide with the leaf fall season, residents are being reminded that the council offers a fortnightly chargeable garden waste collection service. Residents who would like to sign up to the service will be charged a discounted rate of £45 until March 2017, with a further 25% discount for residents who are over 65.

For more information about the garden waste scheme visit www.ealing.gov.uk/gardenwaste

Why not try composting?

The council is also offering residents reduced cost compost bins to help them recycle garden waste to produce their own compost ready for spring planting, with prices starting at £17.98, plus delivery.

Those considering a compost bin should remember it is important to have a good mixture of materials to make a good quality compost. As well as green garden waste, fruit and vegetable peelings, egg shells, tea bags, pet hair, and even shredded paper can be composted.

Try to aim for a 50/50 mix of ‘greens’ such as vegetable peelings, old flowers, grass cuttings, spent bedding plants and ‘browns’ such as garden cuttings, coffee grounds, tissues and paper napkins, cardboard, vacuum cleaner dust.

Order your compost bin here or call 0845 130 60 90 for more information.