Over 70 fines were issued for urinating and littering in London Fields and the surrounding side streets over the weekend, as large volumes of rubbish were cleared by Council staff from parks across the borough.
The 72 fines – of £150 each – were issued by Council enforcement officers deployed to help park staff maintain Hackney’s green spaces over the weekend.
Significant volumes of rubbish remain an issue in the borough’s parks, and the Council is encouraging people to take rubbish home with them or use the 84 new large commercial capacity bins it has delivered to parks across the borough.
Toilets in parks are now open from 12 – 9pm every day, but the Council is encouraging people to return home if they need to use the loo where possible to reduce pressure on Council resources.
Saturday and Sunday also saw large volumes of rubbish cleared from all green spaces across the borough.
The Council is urging people to:
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Keep two metres apart at all times, unless from same household
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Avoid gathering in groups of more than six people, unless from the same household
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Take litter home or put it in the bin
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Return home to use the toilet if possible to reduce pressure on Council resources
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Respect the borough’s parks and their staff
The Council has already implemented its full summer waste collection routines for parks a month early, which will see more staff collect rubbish first thing in the morning and into the evening.
However, this is placing increased pressure on Council resources – with rubbish collections during the summer at London Fields alone last year costing nearly £100,000 and additional bins expected to cost £80,000.
