Crews of Merton Council’s street cleaning teams have been carrying out a major sweep-up of leaves across the borough and have already collected over 40 tonnes.

Following a mild autumn and late leaf fall, the crews are out and about making sure the borough’s pavements and gutters are clear of leaves.

Over the next few weeks they will be picking up over 100 tonnes of leaves – that’s the weight of eight London buses. With over 220,000 street trees in Merton, the council’s street crews will be prioritising leaf sweeping to make sure the streets with the most leaf-fall are cleared.

Residents with compost bins can help by collecting leaves from outside their homes and composting them for their garden. People can also help by not sweeping leaves from their gardens, drives or pavements into the road, as this may block the gullies and could cause flooding.

If residents see a build-up of leaves, they can contact the council’s team by visiting merton.gov.uk/street-cleaning or calling 020 8274 4902.

Merton Council’s cabinet member for street cleanliness and parking, Councillor Ross Garrod said “Our teams will be making every effort to make sure that the roads are swept and cleared of leaves but it would be a great help if residents composted leaves from the front of their home. We are lucky to be one of London’s greenest boroughs and have a lot of trees across our town centres, which means we have a lot of streets to clear. Working with residents, we can ensure we’re one of the cleanest boroughs.” 

Based on information supplied by Merton Council.