06 July 2012
More than 200 extra staff will be drafted in during and in the run-up to the Olympics to keep Westminster clean with an anticipated three million extra visitors a day passing through the capital during the games.
The three week intensive pre-clean, to get central London ready for the millions of extra anticipated visitors, starts this week, with an extra 640 man-hours being put in before the start of the Games on the 27th July.
One of the key roles of the extra staff will be to act as “scavenger squads” – with the ability to swoop on litter problems as they arise.
Headline points of the team are:
- 212 extra staff
- 20 extra sweeping vehicles
- 18 extra bin lorries
- ‘Scavenger squads’ as an emergency response team to mop up problem areas
- The ability to target-clean tube stations, live sites and Lords with precision
- Approach will be “Get in, Get the Job Done, Get out”
- £1.25m investment from Olympic organising committees and the GLA
- Key areas: the West End, Horseguards Parade, tube stations, Hyde Park and Lords Cricket Ground
Cllr Ed Argar, Westminster City Council’s Cabinet Member for City Management, said: “This is a substantial investment but the eyes of the world will be on London and we will ensure Westminster looks its best for visitors, businesses and residents during the Games.
“Working with our contractors Veolia, we will have teams everywhere they need to be, and extra mobile teams on standby to tackle emergencies quickly and effectively.”
Pascal Hauret, Veolia Environmental Services’ London Municipal Services Director, said: “Since we began working in partnership with Westminster City Council this is without doubt the biggest operational challenge we have faced. However we are confident that the plans and processes we have in place will ensure that the services we deliver will remain as unaffected as possible. Once again our dedicated and exceptionally hard-working team will be out in force keeping the city clean day and night.”
Click on the picture(s) below to see full size:
Westminster Council launches Olympic clean up team
Contacts
For more information please contact:
Dan Lester
Communications Manager
Veolia Environmental Services (UK) Plc.
Contract House
Ashley Road Depot
Tottenham
London N17 9AZ
Tel: +44(0)7920 295 715
E: dan.lester@veolia.co.uk
Notes to the editor
Veolia Environmental Services, part of the Veolia Environnement Group, is the UK’s leading waste management company. With a sizeable presence throughout the UK, mainland Europe and the world, Veolia Environmental Services employs over 77,000 people in 33 countries and serves more than 800,000 business clients worldwide. Veolia Environmental Services is the only global provider of a full range of services for handling hazardous and non-hazardous solid and liquid waste. It provides waste management and logistics services as well as materials recovery and recycling. Veolia Environmental Services generated revenue of €9.08 billion in 2012.
We are committed to protecting the environment and improving the lives of the communities in which we operate and have been awarded Platinum Rating in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index for 2013.
Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) is the worldwide reference in environmental services. The company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in three complementary segments: water management, waste management and energy management. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €29.4 billion in 2012.
Further information can be obtained by visiting the websites: www.veolia.co.uk
www.veoliaenvironnement.com