Olympian effort gets central London streets sparkling in no time

As the first weekend of the London 2012 Olympic Games draws to a close, the Olympic clean up team is kicking into overdrive to make sure central London is ready for the next week of the Games.

The £1.2million, 200-person clean up army has been out in force since the torch relay passed through Westminster on Thursday, collecting around 85 tonnes and 17,000 bags of rubbish over the first weekend of the Games.

The streets of central London, which held yesterday’s cycle road race were back to their best by 6.30pm, a mere two hours after the mammoth clean-up operation began. 

 First weekend of the Westminster Olympic clean up: the facts: 

·         Thursday 26th July: 44 crew on-street behind the Olympic Torch Relay 

·         Friday 26th July: 55 crew following the Olympic Torch Relay along its’ river route took two hours to clean up

·         Saturday 27th July: crew of 55 and 10 vehicles cleaned up after the Cycle Road Race in just over two hours

·         Over the weekend around 85 tonnes and 17,000 bags of rubbish were collected

·         Thousands of water bottles and hundreds of flags picked up from the streets

·         “Scavenger squads” on call to be deployed to any problem areas to address waste and rubbish problems quickly to keep the streets looking pristine

 Cllr Ed Argar, Westminster Council’s Cabinet Member for City Management said:

“The eyes of the world are on London for the Olympic Games, and we are determined to play our part in helping make them the best Games ever, and ensuring that London looks at its very best. 

“Our dedicated Olympic clean up team have done a first-class job over the first few days of the Games, getting the streets back to their best for the start of the first full week of the Games after this weekend's fantastic road-race events, both for the millions of extra visitors to the city, and for the residents and businesses of Westminster.

 “Although Westminster is more than used to dealing with major events, keeping the city running and looking fantastic during the Games is a mammoth operation and a big challenge - but one we're well prepared for. Our cleansing teams are determined to do their best for the Olympics, the greatest show on earth, and their dedication and amazing hard work this weekend has clearly paid off yet again." 

 Pascal Hauret, Veolia Environmental Services’ London Director of Municipal Services, said:

 “We have been preparing for this immense challenge for a long time and coming so soon after the Jubilee celebrations the team are out in force once again and excelling themselves with their hard work.  They will no doubt continue to do so throughout this busy summer period.  “It is a testament to their dedication and our commitment to cleaning the streets of Westminster to such a high standard and I thank them all for their efforts.”