In the run up to the General Election, I campaigned across all three constituencies in Enfield and found there to be high levels of rubbish left to rot on pavements and roads across the borough. Nick de Bois campaigned to keep weekly bin collections and Conservative councillors are calling for the local authority to maintain the current system, but even weekly bin collections don’t seem to be enough to keep our streets clean.

There is no question in my mind that Edmonton has by far the dirtiest streets in the borough and to be frank it is a disgrace.

Summer is fast approaching and the smells coming from decomposing rubbish are the least of our worries. Health risks associated with rotting rubbish on the streets will surely increase, the millions of harmful bacteria found in rubbish can multiply more than five times during one week and researchers have found bacteria from the same family as the plague in household rubbish that has been left to rot.

In the first instance, I would like to see Enfield council simplify the process of reporting rubbish on the streets. When I have tried to report incidents of fly-tipping via Twitter or Facebook I have been redirected to the council website for which the process of reporting rubbish seems akin to those annoying automated telephone answering systems. Surely it should be possible to report rubbish by telling the council that there is a problem, for example on Twitter or Facebook a message with a picture, road name and post code should be enough for Enfield council to locate and clear the offending pile of rubbish.

Secondly, I don’t feel that Enfield residents should have to report issues of dumped rubbish to the council when we pay council tax for rubbish collection. Why can’t there be regular patrols, at least in the worst areas, to clear dumped rubbish? Let’s face it, if you were parking dangerously or illegally Enfield council would soon be available to resolve that problem, why can’t the same be done for rubbish?

Conservative councillors across the borough are already highlighting the problem of dumped rubbish on Twitter and I encourage readers to join in the campaign for cleaner streets. If you see dumped rubbish get a picture and tweet it with the following details: postcode, road name, @EnfieldCouncil, #cleanupenfield Let’s work together for a cleaner Edmonton and Enfield.

Gonul Daniels

Conservative Campaigner