Enfield Council's recent full council meeting saw a heated debate on the state of street cleaning and fly-tipping across the borough. Opposition councillors criticised the current Conservative administration for a perceived decline in standards since they took office in May 2026, citing overflowing bins, increased litter, and delays in clearing fly-tipped waste.
Councillor Laura Davenport, representing the opposition, argued that the removal of approximately 30 street cleaners had exacerbated the problem, particularly during the hottest summer on record. She questioned the administration's plan to address these issues and accused them of hypocrisy for posing next to newly installed bins that were funded by the previous Labour administration.
However, Councillor Maria Alexandrou, Cabinet Member for Environment, strongly refuted the claims. She stated that no core staff had been let go and that the council's core street cleansing establishment of 139 operatives is being bolstered with the recruitment of 28 permanent full-time staff, with these vacancies fully funded and actively being recruited. She clarified that the widely repeated figure of 30 street cleaners being removed was incorrect, and that an enhanced service, funded by a £960,000 temporary programme from January to June, had ended, but the underlying service had not been reduced.
Councillor Alexandrou highlighted increased enforcement actions and a move towards digital data collection for the street cleansing team, with staff using tablets to record issues in real-time. The council is also doubling CCTV waste cameras from 16 to 32, with cameras moved to five new locations. Enforcement data, such as fixed penalty notices, is being considered for quarterly publication. Specific enforcement actions between April and August include the issuance of 154 enforcement notices and 4,251 penalty notices for littering. Additionally, 327 files for littering offences have been processed via the single justice procedure, four fly-tip cases are heading to court this autumn, and a vehicle was seized for multiple fly-tipping incidents, with a van driver prosecuted for illegal waste dumping. Successful fly-tip court cases and vehicle seizures are published on the council's website.
Regarding bin collections, Councillor Alexandrou stated that the current administration is bringing back weekly bin collections, a change she contrasted with the previous Labour administration's decision to make collections fortnightly against the will of the people. The Council Plan 2026-2030 also outlines plans for improving bin collection frequencies and rolling out food waste collections to all properties.
Councillor Alexandrou also criticised the previous administration's handling of waste services, including the fortnightly bin collections. She highlighted that the current administration has taken more action in four months than Labour did in four years, stating, People wanted change and we will give it to them.
