One of the world’s largest street carnivals, is returning to London this bank holiday weekend after a two-year hiatus.
More than two million people are expected to attend the carnival this weekend. That’s why Westminster City Council will be on hand to help with the immense clean-up of over 200 tonnes of waste, with 170 workers and 60 vehicles in action over the weekend.
Waste collections during the carnival
The general waste collected by Westminster’s cleansing teams will be taken to Veolia’s London SELCHP Energy Recovery Facility, where it will be converted into enough energy to power the equivalent of 80,000 hot showers and travel 84 km on the tube. We will guarantee that the many cans thrown away at the carnival will all be recycled which will save around 63 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This is the equivalent of what is generated by the heating of 23 average British homes.
Westminster City Council will also offer a food waste collection service for vendors working at the carnival. By doing this, we recycle more waste which helps reduce the carbon footprint of the carnival.
Our staff are aiming to complete the clean-up before Tuesday morning. Cleaning teams will be on the ground from 21:00 on Sunday and Monday nights before the clean-up operation officially begins around 22:00.
Commercial waste collections during the carnival
Businesses along the carnival route using Westminster City Council’s Commercial Waste Services will have their waste collected during the clean-up. Please remember that during the event, you cannot place any waste or recycling bins and bags out on the street as it causes obstructions and poses risks to public safety. Place your waste out when the event has ended and its properly segregated for recycling. Unless you use one of our containers for your waste, you can only present commercial waste for collection in the official red and blue bags. You cannot put commercial waste on the street in ordinary black bags.
Customers of other waste collectors won’t be able to receive collections in the carnival area until the road closures are no longer in place on the morning of Monday 29th August since their vehicles are not approved to enter the security cordon. If this causes you issues then please liaise with us first before placing waste on the street.
If you’d like more information regarding waste collections during events, read our article here or check out our special events leaflet for more information on your commercial waste collections.
For more information on this year’s Notting Hill Carnival event, including road closures, traffic information, and parking suspensions, visit: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/notting-hill-carnival.
Residents living in the event area can find information on the free garden and basement clean-up service on this page.