Hit squads to tackle city rubbish

6:28am Friday 5th September 2008

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Waste hit squads will take to the streets next month to clean Oxford's roads of mountains of rubbish and debris.

For the first time, residents will be able to call out crack teams in rapid response vehicles to clear up mess left by students and those living in shared houses.

The drive - for which funding of £40,000 was approved on Wednesday - comes after the first admission by Oxford City Council that its controversial fortnightly rubbish collection scheme is not working "in some areas".

Council bosses think that by removing waste from the streets, the city's perennial rat problem will soon disappear.

The four-man hit squads form part of a package of proposals aimed at eradicating waste problems in densely populated areas.

They will operate during university term time to tackle grot spots close to Oxford's 5,000 multi-occupied houses.

City councillor John Tanner, the man overseeing the project, said: "We're still getting lots of calls from people saying there is mess outside their homes - we want to get rid of that.

"The present system is not working properly in some areas of the city and we'll be particularly looking at areas with a concentration of students like East Oxford and Headington.

"It's no secret students often cause the biggest problems, so we're going to be particularly concentrating in term time. If we can remove the waste rats are feeding on, this should reduce the problem.

"I'm not claiming to be the Pied Piper of Oxford, but I am claiming to be Mr Clean as far as getting rid of the rubbish is concerned."

Residents will be able to call a dedicated number and expect rubbish to be cleaned within 24 hours.

Other street cleaning measures include a £15,000 scheme to provide 800 free, 240-litre blue wheelie bins to infirm residents and large families across the city. Residents usually have to pay for them.

The measures were last night welcomed by people in Marston Street, East Oxford. They claim the rat population has exploded since fortnightly waste collections started in 2006.

Geoff Pitts, 58, who has lived in the street for more than 20 years, has found dead rats in his back garden and has seen live vermin on his property this week. Mr Pitts said he had never known the rat problem to be so bad.

He added: "We really welcome this.

"If the council do what they say they're going to do I'm sure it will reduce the number of rats."

Jo Reed, 44, who had a rat crawl into her house through a cat flap, had to call a pest control expert to eradicate a vermin problem. She said: "We're rife with rats in this area. It's absolutely horrendous.

"I won't let my baby play on the patio because of the rats.

"The council don't seem to realise the new bin system doesn't work with houses of multiple occupancy."

Mr Tanner said he would not rule out a return to weekly bin collections in areas of East Oxford and Osney Island where people have struggled to cope with the new system.

He said: "Re-introducing weekly bin collections in Oxford would cost around £1m so it's very unlikely Labour will do that."

But he added: "If people are continuing to have difficulty with recycling we'll look at every option - including the return to weekly collections in selective cases."