Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Foul smells, rats and urban foxes: research reveals UK's worst cities for problem rubbish
A new league table showing the impact of overflowing bins in the UK's major metropolitan areas reveals that Londoners are hardest hit by the effects of problem waste.
The rankings, produced by on-demand rubbish remover Clearabee and research consultancy Opinium, indicate that almost a third (30%) of London's seven million residents have been adversely affected by excess household rubbish; a far greater proportion than other UK cities.
Urban foxes are the biggest problem for Londoners, 14% of whom said they had encountered waste scattered by the carnivorous mammals. Other common complaints associated with overflowing bins in the Capital included foul smells and rats, issues affecting 12% and 6% of Londoners respectively.
Outside of London, people in Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle also reported problems associated with rubbish at rates that exceeded the national average. Residents of Sheffield and Nottingham lodged the fewest complaints in the cities covered by Clearabee's study.
Nationwide, one in five (20%) people have experienced problems with overflowing bins, the most common of which (10%) being foul smells. 6% of households have had issues with foxes scattering waste and 4% say excess rubbish has attracted rats to their properties.
Problems with waste were more frequent amongst younger adults. Across the UK, 29% of people aged 18-34 had experienced issues, compared to 22% of those aged 35-54 and just 10% of over 55s.
"Overflowing bins aren't just an eyesore, they create unpleasant smells and attract vermin," comments Daniel Long, founder and managing director at Clearabee. "With council services stretched to breaking point and bad weather affecting scheduled collections, we urge people to be patient or book a low-cost private rubbish removal rather than taking an antisocial action such as dumping waste in the garden, street or a neighbour's bin."
One of the UK's largest on-demand rubbish removal service operating nationwide using only its own fully trained and vetted employees, Clearabee provides on-demand junk clearance and rubbish removal services to thousands of domestic and commercial customers across the UK each month.
Based in Birmingham, it employs 165 people and boasts a fleet of 65 vehicles operating nationally. It is licensed by the Environment Agency, accredited by the Contractors Health & Safety scheme and is an affiliated member of the Chartered Institute of Waste Management. Interestingly, more than 90% of the waste collected by Clearabee is recycled or reused and the company actively chooses zero-to-landfill waste processing partners wherever possible.
T: 0330 088 1000
W: www.clearabee.co.uk
4th January 2018