Leafing schedules

[ianr]

Quite by chance I came across this Southwark Leafing schedules spreadsheet for 2020: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/assets/attach/11086/leafing-schedules-2020.xlsx (45kB). It's got six tables, for weeks designated 1 to 6 starting from 26 October, each containing a list of roads. Some roads are listed in more than one table, with maybe an interval between.

[spider69]

Thank you for putting this up.

Our pavements are covered in a thick covering of very slippery leaves.

When I pointed this out to Environmental Health by email all they said is they will will pass it on and could not give me a date of when it would be looked at or cleaned.

Never mentioned the schedule you posted.

[Nigello]

What about clearing leaves outside one?s house oneself, if it?s physically possible!? I don?t mean far from the gate, just six or so feet each way? I?d do it if I had a problem chez moi but I don?t. It?s reasonable and community minded ? maybe that?s why people don?t do it where the council can?t or won?t.

[Frankito]

It?s comforting to know that Mother Theresa still walks amongst us...!

Nigello Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What about clearing leaves outside one?s house

> oneself, if it?s physically possible!? I don?t

> mean far from the gate, just six or so feet each

> way? I?d do it if I had a problem chez moi but I

> don?t. It?s reasonable and community minded ?

> maybe that?s why people don?t do it where the

> council can?t or won?t.

[northernmonkey]

This ties in with what i'd seen posted on here before, that at least on side roads the schedule is now 6 weekly leaf clearing to save costs. It means that in times where the leaf fall is at its highest that there is significant build up. Not sure that there is an answer though other than clear the bit outside your house and help out neighbours who can't? The council isn't going to suddenly find more cash for this. Stopping the free garden waste collection doesn't help with people feeling publicly spirited on this though.

[AylwardS]

A sensible suggestion by Nigello. The council will have even more calls on their limited resources than normal anything any of us can do to help that means they can use those resources elsewhere is good. 15 minutes clearing leaves, take your litter home, put a mask in the bin rather than dropping it on the floor - preferably having cut the straps to save wildlife getting caught up in it.

I grew up in a cul de sac with a steep hill. In ice and snow some cars would struggle to get up it and the only way out was uphill

Everybody cleared the road across from their drive meaning the cars that needed it could get a grip and make it up the hill and out. It didn?t take anyone too long from those houses and everyone who needed to drive out could.

[Nigello]

👏 (Oh, and Frankfito, I also pick up litter and smile at strangers. 😇)

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

I pick up litter on my block, but I don't clear up leaves (I don't have a rake) and I don't smile at strangers (they can all p!ss off).

[Frankito]

Haha I?m sure you do, thanks for over-sharing.

Nigello Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> 👏 (Oh, and Frankfito, I also pick up

> litter and smile at strangers. 😇)

[Nigello]

No, I?ve not finished. I love chinchillas, hot milky drinks and photographing road signs (but only the ones with red borders. I mean, no offence to the National Trust, but that brown shade does nothing for me.)

[heartblock]

I used to sweep the leaves and put in my brown bin, but as I haven?t got one or any free bags I can?t sweep up leaves from the street trees. I love those trees, so maybe if the council provide us with the big bags we can at least sweep our front gardens/drives and a little bit of the pavement.

[northernmonkey]

I think this is the key thing isn't it - removing the bins except for those who pay doesn't promote people feeling community minded on leaf sweeping! We need some means of getting rid of the swept up leaves.

[Penguin68]

I do sweep up the fallen leaves from a sycamore in my front garden which fall on the pavement - but then I start by sweeping the ones in my garden and I do have a brown bin. If I don't they tend to blow back into my garden anyway, so in the long run it saves me (some) effort. But if I didn't have a garden waste bin I probably wouldn't (and, to head off critics, I compost the fallen leaves in my back garden, and the ones in my brown bin will go to be composted anyway).

Maybe if the council left those large fibre Builders sacks that e.g. sand or gravel comes in in areas of high leaf fall and close houses people without brown bins could put leaves in these, but I suspect that they would be mis-used - it's the sort of thing that works in villages but not inner city suburbs perhaps.

[Nigello]

Sweep up, bag and stick it in the nearest rubbish bin or your normal bin. Or ask a neighbour for the temporary use of a brown bin. Solutions

[rachp]

Great idea for people to help out on their own streets with leaves and litter. When we do litter picks with plastic free east Dulwich, the council provides bags and I think advises on where to leave them. I can find out. I'm sure they would be supportive of community minded input where they can help with little effort.

[Nigello]

As long as they?re disposed of correctly people can take it on themselves without ?permission?. I?ve had to report bags of collected leaves, split with contents rotting, to Southwark because the collection was never made. Keep it simple is my motto. Adding a layer of council bureaucracy adds to time wasted, I think.

[heartblock]

mmmmhh putting your rubbish..even leaves into a brown bin that one hasn?t paid for is pretty much an invite for neighbours falling out I have found. Also my neighbours on my strip do not have brown bins as they don?t have gardens or have very small ones. As I say, if Southwark provides me with 4 bags over autumn I will happily sweep my patch.

[Nigello]

Waiting for a council to give you a paper sack? Just use a carrier bag and put it in a litter bin or your green bin.

Also, I don?t support using neighbours? bins without asking which is why I suggested doing so ⬆️ there. Stop making excuses, would-be do-gooders!

[mynamehere]

leaf mulch is biological gold dust... collect it and use it

I agree with Nigello about shared pavement and street social norms

[Nigello]

I saw the leaf sweepers this morning on Jennings. One said the bags are often collected same day. I?d prefer it if schools swept away/collected the leaves from the footpaths rather than wait for a once-in-a-while sweep by the council. The paths near Goodrich are slutchy and slippery. The PTA may have ideas on this.

[apbremer]

Perhaps one of our councillors could explain this enduring mystery.

Each year we are told that essential services such as leaf clearing and pothole repairs are cut back yet again due to financial limitations. Each year, however, we seem to get more and more daft, hugely expensive and unnecessary road "improvements", some of which are reversed shortly afterwards at yet more expense. The budget for these lunacies appears to be limitless, with monies apparently gushing from an enduring and bottomless pit.

There can be no doubt that the greatest fun in all the world is playing silly games with other peoples' money.

[Nigello]

An easy fix would be for the council to

A Ask its tree department which trees drop their leaves when and to what amount

B Ask street sweepers to work on certain areas with the heaviest leaf drops at a certain time, and/or prioritise streets with heavy leaf drop near to schools, hospitals and high streets.

[Nigello]

Another reason to pick up leaves near where you live, if you are able:

https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,2164837

[richard tudor]

See post on leaves on pavements.

[malumbu]

Isn't there a spray you can use to stop the leaves falling, like the ones you can use on your Xmas tree to keep the needles on the branch? It would also be very pretty at Xmas having autumnal colours, and give you somewhere to shelter when it is raining. As to spring we could cross that bridge later. Alternatively all the trees could be replaced with synthetic ones, which would lead to much lower maintenance. The trees could go into a tree museum. As there is a lot of concern about lack of space for cars we could pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Is there a petition that I can sign? I've also got a good idea of a protest song, do we have anyone who is a 60s style female singer, guitarist and songwriter? Genius.