Street Cleansing Services
We aim to clean all residential streets four times each year. This includes a litter pick and a mechanical sweep of the road surface. In addition, busy areas in our larger villages received an interim mechanical sweep and litter pick monthly.
Towcester and Brackley have Town orderlies who litter pick town centres daily and busier parts of the towns weekly. Main areas of Towcester and Brackley are mechanically swept monthly.
We empty street litter bins weekly, and we litter pick lay bys and empty the lay by litter bins twice a week. We aim to mechanically sweep and litter pick main roads four times a year and litter pick all other roads when required.
You can help keep your local area clean by using our litter bins or taking your rubbish home to bin or recycle. You are actually breaking the law if you drop litter (e.g. cigarette ends, sweet wrappers), and you can be fined up to £75.
Fly Tipping
We investigate fly tipping and aim to remove fly tipped rubbish from the public highway within five working days. If you come across any fly tipped rubbish, please report it by using our online form.
Lose the Litter Scheme
We have litter picking equipment available free of charge to Parish Councils and community groups to enable them to carry out local litter picks. We will normally remove sacks of litter collected as soon as the next working day after the event.
Here's a testimonial from one of our Lose the Litter volunteers.
Why I Volunteer To Litter Pick
Nick Holder, Towcester
A while ago, I watched Little Grebes on the Belle Baulk balance lake. I noticed one in trouble, caught in a piece of litter. Despite efforts to catch it by myself and others, we were unable to save it, and the other adult ended up leaving the area as it could not find another mate. So having returned to the area after several years (according to longer term residents) it was a tragedy that they did not survive for long.
The offending litter was a plastic ring from a bottle, caught through the mouth and around the back of the Grebes neck. This meant the bird was unable to dive for fish, and so would have ended up starving if not taken by another predator. And all because somebody had discarded a plastic bottle.
This is why I volunteer to litter pick in my local area. If you wish to volunteer to litter pick with your local community group on the “Lose the Litter” scheme, please contact the Council to arrange to borrow the equipment and book a rubbish collection.