We understand that residents are concerned about rubbish on our streets, particularly after household bins and bags have been emptied. We take these concerns seriously and want to explain what we do, what we can’t do, and how we can all help keep our area clean and tidy.
Our waste crews empty around 16,000 bins every single day across the district. When bins and bags are being emptied, our crews will always pick up any rubbish that falls out during the collection process. That is part of their job, and they take pride in doing it properly.
However, we cannot control rubbish that escapes from bins or bags before our crews arrive, for example due to overfilled bins, unsealed bags, loose waste, wind, animals, or bins being presented incorrectly. It’s also important to understand that our crews are bin operatives, not street cleansing teams, and they cannot clear the streets as they move between collections.
Keeping our streets clean is a shared responsibility. Rubbish doesn’t appear on its own - it is created by all of us.
We are asking residents to help by not walking past litter - if you spot rubbish while walking the dog, taking children to school, or passing through your neighbourhood, please consider picking it up and putting it in a bin where it’s safe to do so.
We will always do our best to keep the district tidy. We clean streets, empty bins, and respond to reports of litter and fly-tipping. But lasting cleanliness can only be achieved through a collaborative effort between the council and the community.
By working together and taking pride in our shared spaces, we can all help keep our streets cleaner, safer, and more pleasant places to live - after all, it’s our area, and we all play a part in looking after it.
Report it
If you see a crew not picking up waste that has fallen out of a bin and bag when they emptied it, please let us know by reporting it to waste.strategy@lichfielddc.gov.uk - please let us know when and where it happened. We have CCTV on our vehicles and we will check the footage and ensure we speak to the crews and provide training to ensure it doesn't happen again.
