Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Keeping streets clean

• All residential streets will receive a litter-picking visit every week and a mechanical sweeper will visit your area every three weeks.
• Main shopping areas are subject to a greater frequency of cleansing due to a higher volume of pedestrian traffic.
• At the closure of each market in Stockton High Street and Thornaby Town Centre, the area is fully cleared of all items and the paths are mechanically swept.
• For those who choose to drop litter, there will be an instant fixed penalty fine of £80.
• We will also remove graffiti although the service is chargeable if the graffiti is on private property.
• Other works to keep our area tidy, such as weed spraying, strimming overgrown vegetation and clearing becks is normally undertaken by our "hit squad" as it cannot be carried out as part of our daily work and tends to be programmed in advance.
• During our weed-spraying programme, we will treat all areas at least twice per year. We begin around April each year and the second "spot" treatment is done around three to four months later.
• We will also respond to any additional cleansing requests that we receive and in most cases we will complete the request within 48 hours.
• We operate a zonal clearance arrangement, which splits the borough into four main areas. Each area has a Team Leader and a team of cleansing staff.  Staff then become accustomed to their areas and quickly build up a knowledge of those areas that for example, require more regular visits and more importantly, have a sense of "ownership" in their areas.
• Although we do carry out an effective mechanical sweeping programme (sweeping road gutters and back lanes with sweeping machines) we are also aware that many of our customers feel that a more personal approach to cleansing services is required. We have reacted to this by employing more litter-pickers who you will often see travelling around the Borough in their small white three wheel vehicles (Piaggio's).
• Working in partnership with both NACRO and the Youth Offending Services to improve the standard of cleanliness in many areas of the Borough, this arrangement not only helps to improve the Borough but also provides valuable opportunities to those members of the community who may have difficulties in finding forms of employment.
• We will also offer practical advice and assistance to any local resident group, community association or school who is planning any local litter-picking or tidy-up event.

Need to know more? Just contact us and we will be more than happy to help.