Fifty-one vehicles used to clear London’s NYE waste

More than 119 members of staff worked through the night (1 January) to remove any sign of a hangover from the night before and clean up after half a million revellers. Westminster City Council said it expected to clear up around 85 tonnes of waste. 

The waste mainly consisted of plastic bags, plastic bottles, food packaging, cans of lager and 15,000 empty bottles of champagne.

Cabinet Member for City Management Cllr Ed Argar said: “Westminster is the focal point for the nation as well as London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations and we are proud to be able to host them, and provide such an efficient clean up service to get the street cleans and tidy for the New Year’s Day Parade.”

“We are well practised in dealing with big events and I’m sure our cleansing teams will put on a first class performance again this year.”

Veolia Environnement regional director Pascal Hauret added: “While the New Year’s clean-up represents a sizeable challenge, it is one that we relish and are extremely proud of the efforts our staff put into ensuring the streets of Westminster are back to their usual high standard by the morning. It is a true team effort, with everyone pitching in to help, from senior management to staff from across our London contracts.”

Liz Gyekye