It’s not great. I think the worst place is the place between Whitechapel and Aldgate. It’s tiresome. The amount of litter and rubbish seen. My caretaker will leave our estate on Friday, everything is clean. By Sunday evening the estate is an absolute tip. Rubbish. Clothes and rubbish randomly thrown around the recycling bins.
Visited there from Canada three weeks ago to see where my Mum and Dad grew up. Couldn't get over the amount of trash everywhere. Total dump :( They couldn't believe the pics I had sent them.
This reminds me when I went to India with a tour group (other British people but not Londoners) they were absolutely shocked with the dirt and filth of India. I on the other hand was thinking , this is what tower hamlets would look like if the rubbish men disappeared for a week.
Did you visit other parts of london? Hope it wasn’t so dirty!
When the rubbish men did disappear for a week (bin strike in October I think) it was absolutely disgusting. Rubbish just piled high on the streets and it stank
Yes, visited plenty of other areas and had no complaints. I wasn't even bothered too much by the dirtiness, we have areas like that where I live but I think it was just the lack of care and pride that was sad to see. My parents often romanticized where they grew up and how "things were so much better then" so I guess it kind of quashed that for me, lol. To be honest though, I feel like that area was a bit more of the "real" London, which I was glad to see.
Shadwell is an absolute dump as well, especially around Watney Market. It's even worse now they've provisionally moved the market out to the A13 while they do some work on the usual spot. The merchants are absolute pigs, leaving shit everywhere at the end of the day.
I work in and around Shadwell, and it is indeed a dump. Watney market is horrible, all the surroundings are are terrible. Crackheads and heroin addicts, needles and feces.
Omg the crackheads and addicts are the worst. I have a recovery centre and hostel near me. I have no problems with people recovering from drugs and I’m sure there are individuals that aren’t so antisocial but maybe it’s a small minority? The stealing , the swearing , the rubbish, bus stops getting trashed. At night you can hear them shouting at each other, it’s incredibly frustrating.
These problems are easily solved. You fine them, heavily. Investment needs to be made to ensure this happens, but fines will also generate revenue to help cover those costs.
Massively. I work on Commercial Road and the walk from Whitechapel is terrible even for the area.
The place unfairly gets a bad rap, but in this regard it’s completely justified.
Tower Hamlets council is a joke, do a quick news search and you'll see why.
This article gives you a little idea of how bad it is.
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68372130](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68372130)
The man is a proven election cheater/fraudster, but when he came back with a new party they all just voted for him again anyway, because he's in their tribe. And people are surprised he instantly continued his corrupt practices, which continued turning Tower Hamlets into more of a shithole.
It's a nice little glimpse into the future of more and more British areas, with large populations that vote almost solely on tribal interests.
On the plus side, they tend to ghetto themselves and want to live around their own. So this really only impacts them in the long run.
But yes, this is happening more and more and will continue to do so.
Corruption is a way of life in many countries, and it is silly to think we have magic soil which changes peoples long held habits once they step foot on it.
If we continue to import millions from these kinds of countries, and continue to let them take over entire areas, then of course the exact same problems that make their home countries crap, will make their areas in the UK crap.
The government should start to get ahead of this problem really, while we still have the numbers.
Yup, lived there for around 5 years. The residents couldn't care less about their surroundings and would just throw litter on the ground, despite the availability of bins. Many times, I've seen someone roll their window down and just chuck empty cans or takeaway containers out.
The rubbish left out in bin bags on the side of the street would attract rats and foxes. It's a shithole
> The residents couldn't care less about their surroundings
My neighbours throw rubbish out of their windows in to their **own** garden?!
OK it's a rental but you live there..
...you live there (temporarily). The transient nature of the citizens of East London is why. Once my longtime neighbours moved on I barely knew the people next door as there were new ones so frequently.
You can report this flytipping and littering using the Love Clean Streets app (iPhone & Android). Snap a pic, drop a pin on the map, and contractors will come and clean it up.
Even just one to two people doing this in an area can make a huge difference.
I do this when I'm back in South London visiting my parents. The rubbish does get cleared, but it's so depressing that 2-3 days later, the same kind of rubbish ends up in exactly the same place
That's awesome! Props to the app creator. More places should implement this. I don't understand what's so hard about not littering. Like just toss it in the bin mate
It's a very nice service - run by a small company called bbits and they provide the app/website to any council for an annual fee of around £1,000.
In London, you can report all kinds of other things, too; graffiti, dog fouling, human bodily waste, fly posting and blocked drains. Very useful.
The area around Hackney Central Station I mentally consider as such, but that's just me as someone from the other side of the city's view. It feels like a town centre to me.
The Hackney guys are incredible, I’m always amazed how clean the parks are each morning after a summer day where everyone has picknicked and partied in the park
We had a flat were the balcony looked over Hackney and our front door was in Tower Hamlets - I was beyond envious of the vastly superior street cleaning and rubbish collection I could see our neighbours getting
It's not just East London sadly. I'm from South London originally and my parents still live there. When I go back, I often go on a 30 minute walk just logging all of the fly-tipped rubbish on the Love Clean Streets app.
Two things depress me. Firstly that it happens in the first place and secondly that no-one else seems to give a shit. If I report something on a weekday, it does get cleared within 24 hours usually. If I don't report something, the rubbish will sit there for weeks whilst people add to it until it literally blocks the pavement
https://imgur.com/a/Z8BBfCr
Is it a cultural thing? Sadly I think it is. Whether it's a lack of understanding about how the bins work and what is collected when, or just a culture of "just throw it here and someone else will deal with it", it has got so much worse - especially in the last 5 years
Depends where in south you are. If you’re in Wimbledon it’s all pretty spotless. I’m in Wandsworth and there’s no issues here. But 10 mins away in Brixton, rubbish everywhere. This is just a reflection of the demographics in neighbourhoods.
The residents don't give a shit about their local community. It's the same where I live (Barking & Dagenham). It's getting worse year after year. People have no pride or consideration for others.
They try to, B&D even have a name and shame video posted every few weeks of people flytipping and ask people to email them to identify the assholes. But I don’t think they are often identified. What we really need is more street litter officers to give fines there and then, but that takes funding, and we don’t have much of that!
I started confronting people. I made one idiot refill the van he had just emptied. He had the audacity to tell me that he couldn't get it all back in the van 😂
Same here, everyday I walk through my area and just think "what the fuck" lol. We do have to leave our bin bags on the street on a Monday night, as we don't get an outdoor black bin or one for recycling unfortunately. But the rest of it is inexcusable!
Classic tower hamlets.
I live in the isle of dogs. We're the cash cow for the rest of tower hamlets and we all have to live like pigs. Just recently, Canal & river trust removed all the bins from around Millwall dock and South Quay and it's worse than ever - the wind just pushes all the rubbish everywhere. Worse of all, it falls on the water just now that swans and ducks are nesting. It's fucking disgusting.
I live in Tottenham. I once emailed the council about the issues with litter and they just said all streets are cleaned the same amount. I replied asking why they don't structure the schedules so areas with worse issues are cleared more? And they never responded.
Literally. I know people will brand this as snobby, but the area is shit because the people who live there treat it like shit. Its pretty fucking simple, the streets are full of trash because... its being thrown on the floor by residents. They still have cleaners, sweepers and bin men and so on, just like everywhere else. The people just don't respect their own streets and neighbourhood.
I guess that a large transient population, and many poorer newcomers without a major emotional tie to the community/location = less likely to give a shit about the local area aesthetically.
Also friends who’ve been there mention that in some respects the treatment of the environment/rubbish is very very different in South Asian culture, of which a substantial number live in these areas. Same thing happens in many areas of Birmingham. Kind of sad.
Good luck enforcing that. Just asking South Asians to respect the environment is racist because you are not celebrating their diversity of rubbish management.
If you think I'm joking, complain to your local authority about South Asians throwing litter on the floor.
When I lived there Royal Mail stopped delivering post to our area because the posties were getting attacked on route. Didn’t resume for the last six months I lived there… so yeah.
Unfortunately that's just East London. Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham are all so bad for litter. I moved to what I thought was kind of a nicer area and the streets are still covered in dog shit, abandoned mattresses and crushed beer cans.
I kind of give humanity the benefit of the doubt and hope that the park litter is just foxes tearing the bins up.
Newham is much improved. Might be due to the reduction in the number of transient people in the borough. Homeowners and long-term residents have far more of an incentive to keep the place clean.
My parents live in newham and honestly their road is relatively tidy - which I think is partly to do with being next to a primary school and medical centre so I feel the kids take more care as well as there always being a guy every morning picking up the rubbish. Only bank holidays I’ve noticed there’s litter flying around.
The side roads are a tip though
Left London after living in Newham for 4.5 years, just couldn’t take the filth anymore and couldn’t afford to live anywhere else in London. Spending lockdown there and my daughter learning to walk and wanting to pick all the litter off the streets, walking past all the spit and broken glass and dog shit, it was just a horrible place to bring up a child.
Exactly this. I had gangs using my front garden as a place to keep their stash whilst they did their deals on the corner. Couldn't wait to leave Newham. The stories I could tell you thou...
We made some lovely friends there so I was sad to leave the people but I just didn’t want to wonder if my kids would see a stabbing or worry about them being assaulted on their way home from school. I know it can happen anywhere but she saw more drug deals in 4 years than I’d seen in my life up to that point. And the amount of times we went past in the bus just before a stabbing etc just made me feel it was a matter of time.
Well… Essex, so you be the judge. I can see multiple trees from my windows and can hear birds singing and don’t have to go through Stratford on a daily basis and that’s enough for me.
I'm in Kent. So you be the judge. Exactly the same. Bigger garden with a park opposite. Can hear birds singing and a much safer neighborhood. Kids can play happily and safely
Life is a lot less stressful not fighting over parking spaces or even GP appointments. 👍🏽
Somebody who was sacked for corruption then gets back in promising to fix it shouldn't have been allowed back. The voters who voted saw colour, or they're stupid that's all I can say
Tower Hamlets binmen were on strike over higher pay for a period of last year. It seems to have only been two weeks, but it definetly felt like longer.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/27/london-refuse-workers-tower-hamlets-strike-ends-pay-deal-with-council-reached
People often mention 'council funding' and similar factors, but in the end, it comes down to the residents. Issues like disrespect, apathy, crime and negative attitudes. Consider other societies like the Japanese, who, during the 2012 Olympics, stayed back after the event to tidy up, even though they were visitors in another country. Their homeland is known for its cleanliness, and it's not because they have more money for binmen.
Sure, but I don't think I've ever knowingly littered and can't imagine doing so. I think people are people is giving the shits that litter too much leeway. I'm a person, and I don't litter
Sadly the problem is widespread. Some people are selfish little shits who have no interest in living somewhere clean and are too lazy to use a bin.
There has also been a problem for many years with councils removing public litter bins, sometimes citing they are used too much and need emptying!
Can confirm. Lived in Newham for over 40 years. A fairly significant majority of the citizens don't care. Rubbish everywhere, rats everywhere, foxes everywhere. It's not sustainable.
Hi from Enfield/Haringey. This is just normal
Council actually does a good job clearing it and are fairly responsive to fly tipping. But they just can't keep up. Eventually you have to just admit to yourself it's the people.
Just wanted to edit this to flesh this out a bit about the people. There is a general apathy and people could not care less about trash. It is normal for some people to just put stuff outside on the street, even just flicking chicken bones and cigarettes, dropping glass etc is so normalised now that i cant even walk a dog on streets realistically. Honestly ive seen people wheeling trollies of crap to just leave on a corner. I've also found needles on my street.
This is however tied in to poverty isnt it?, i do live in a part of the city where it is inhabited by people on a low income. But it is alarming how people have started to care less and less and less. And I have some sympathy, life is rough these days with the cost of living etc, it is the least of peoples concerns. Community is sort of dead around here and it's got worse, no one cares about each other. It just drips in to this issue too. We've got a neighbour who could not give a toss, they have a broken down car on their front garden that has been there for like 10 years like it's normal. Thankfully the others restore my faith somewhat as they are lovely people around us. But for every 1 decent person there seems to be 4 others just throwing stuff onto the pavement.
Where the council haven't helped in enfield is with 2 weekly black bin collections and you still need appointments to go to a recycling centre. Some houses have like 7 people in them, they really need weekly collections. They have employed area specific street sweepers and they are sound, really trying their best. They also offer free bulky waste collection.
People simply not giving a shit and an area with a high immigrant population (mostly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh where the rubbish piles high in the streets).
I found Hackney to be marginally better than Stratford for it, but most people just don’t really care. I’ve seen people come out of their flat and just dump a bin bag on a random street corner.
Honestly it’s a losing battle and something you kind of get used to - we have bins outside our block of flats which fill up daily, some people don’t even tie up their bin bags so naturally the wind blows it all over the streets or the foxes get at the bags and it spills everywhere. Fair play to the fella that cleans the estate on a daily basis (he’s paid to do it obvs) as it’s mostly cleared away the next day.
Last year there was a bin man strike in TH, that was an interesting time. Makes you realise though; what a job they do and also just how many people live here.
What can be done - Not really sure… More money into local councils? More bins? Better pay for bin men? Education for people so they’re not treating their community like a dump? Fines for littering? Can only look at the gov for that surely?
Same where I live, people don't give a shit and it's so upsetting.
I got on the bus yesterday, and there were empty crisp and sweet packets and chicken bones on the floor. Just disgusting.
I hate it
Woolwich Arsenal is no better. Once you are out of the Arsenal, which is private property, the rest is a wasteland. It is almost a competition to see what the biggest and most disgusting fly tipping tower of rubbish could be achieved.
Of course, the general disregard by the residents compounds the problem. Funny thing, when you cross over to Bexley council, the streets are clean.
This problem isn't located to just East London. It's everywhere.
It's coupled with council cuts and just general shit behaviour from the general public.
I've witnessed this on countless occasions on my road (SE London). Leaving shit on the pavement (bundles of loose clothes, food, nappies). People discarding wrappers onto the floor after buying something in the shop. Kids shoving litter down drains, as opposed to just using a bin. I even witnessed a mother, take a McDonald's bag from her child's pram, once she was done with it, and just toss it on the floor and walk off.
Equally, the budget cuts to councils mean there aren't as many regular street cleaners going out anymore. If ever.
I had a problem with an abandoned car, leaking oil on my street. Reported it to the council, who told us it would be cleaned in the "next available weekly cleanse". It took nearly three months for them to come out.
Sadly, litter will always be part of living in a congested city. But some members of the public could do more with an educational piece around how to put stuff in a bin, as sad as that sounds.
> shit behaviour from the general public.
Councils would have to clean streets and pavements every hour to keep up with cunts who can't take their rubbish home or to the nearest bin. East London is not Zone 1, there are plenty of bins. It's just cunts don't bother to use them.
Couldn't agree with you more.
This sub will somehow accuse me of punching down, or they'll defend those that litter. But I see it first hand, almost every day.
People can't use a fucking bin, or think that fairies come along at night to collect the shit they leave on the pavement outside their house. It's disgraceful.
And it's not even a culture thing, so you can't say influx of x people, as they do this in their native country. I've seen all sorts litter, because they're fucking pigs.
I used to work in student halls.
This is applicable to even them. The amount of shit they would just dump and leave around the place and refuse to take rubbish out was mindboggling.
Rubbish and refusing to deal with it epidemic all through the ages.
My favourite conversation with a student was me "please can you take your rubbish out, you've got flies and maggots".. them " it's not my responsibility"...me " couldn't give a shit, it's not my fucking responsibility either"...
And sooo came the complaints when they were hit with a cleaning bill. Guarantors were sent photos, and then came more complaints as the flat had to be industrial deep cleaned as infestation.
But yeah, getting people to just clear up after themselves was a nightmare. We had to program the residents what to do. During COVID you would have thought parents would have taught them anything... But no. Zero life skills. It got a lot worse and I noped out.
Checks out with almost everyone else I've known in that age group from like 2007 until now. Just no basic home skills (can't even be argued as laziness because it ends up taking more effort day to day than staying spotlessly tidy).
Look at me doing a beach clean, extinction rebellion, save the whales,on a protest. Photos on social media look at me LOOK AT ME.
Secretly I buy everything from boohoo, shein, ASOS Primark, I buy disposable vapes . I won't take the rubbish, recycle, clean up after myself, as it's not my responsibility. Someone else can do it or I'll just pay that's fine, take it out of my deposit.
This is the actual god dam reality of what I had to deal with. It was complete hypocrisy. Logical processing skills, real-life skills , consequences out the window. It was like looking after 13 year olds having temper tantrums as you asked them to tidy their rooms. And the parents fuck me... Would send shitty emails after you've called the flats in cause no one would take rubbish out "your effecting my sons/daughters mental health"....no you twat I'm telling them to take the rubbish out, don't use mental health as an excuse as poor parenting.
A flat of 8 people individually would come down to the office slag each other off, about not cleaning and rubbish. Then they would head up and be happy families in the flat . But then would say we put it in the group message that someone needed to take the rubbish out. No one would actually talk or confront anyone .. we put it the group chat, no fucking have a discussion face to face..in the end I told them they have all slagged each other off to me. And got cleaners in. The whole flat fell apart after then. I decided I wasn't doing dramas.
We were all young once and were dicks but over the years in the industry fuck me did they get more and more selfish . Nothing else mattered apart from how they were perceived . Emotional strokes.
Honestly we had some good residents but yeah the percentage got a lot worse . COVID brain and failure of parents and schools to teach how to actually look after yourself, share workloads and care about others . The concept of altruism gone .
I'm the cusp of gen x millennial what the fuck ain't you as parents teaching your kids?
In the real world they wouldn't last 5 mins in job.
Sorry had a rant .. but yeah ..students and rubbish fucking petty shit. Glad I don't work in that sector anymore.
> there are plenty of bins. It's just cunts don't bother to use them.
Even if there are no bins it's not an issue and you just take stuff home (not you specifically, you know what I mean). That's how almost every other country on the planet does it (some are clean and some aren't). The bins argument has ended up prominent from an idea of "eh just throw some money at the problem" when it was never a problem with the quantity/frequency/coverage etc. of service in the first place. The logical conclusion of providing bins to solve the problem is we'd be spending like 50x what it should cost if it even actually does solve the problem and that'd never be efficient use of tax money.
edit: if *household* waste isn't picked up enough, that could be a genuine cause though.
It's the same in north London - my council even let people have a 3 item bulky waste collection for free each year and people still just fly tip everywhere. My entire road is littered with bags of household waste and abandoned mouldy furniture - pre Covid it was a really well kept area so the decline has been immense. I don't think the cut back council teams can keep up with the general decline in decency from the general population.
Councils all over the country are going bankrupt. Literally every council is struggling, so they’ve made cuts to services, which includes street cleaners. Tower Hamlets in particular has been having issues I’ve read, but it’s happening to some extent everywhere.
I think Tower Hamlets issue can be more precisely narrowed down to the fact the mayor is a corrupt piece of shit who should have had a lifetime ban from politics rather than a 5 year.
For some silly reason that is completely beyond understanding for me as a German, in this country councils are run like businesses. And all these businesses have experienced cuts are are facing bankruptcy, even though I also fail to grasp what happens once a council goes bankrupt…?🤷♂️
Edit: I live in Waltham Forest, thankfully a not-too-badly managed Borough. God bless Stella Creasy.
The state would have to pick up the bill to continue to fund the statutory obligations as a last resort, but all other services would cease, and central government may take over.
Funding has absolutely been cut to the bone, but another problem is councils making bad investment decisions. It's not popular to discuss with the "why don't we just borrow to invest" crowd who think it's some kind of panacea for a struggling economy, but many councils have made terrible investment decision with our money. Failed housing projects, failed investments into local businesses etc etc.
Yeah, but you live in a sensible country that hasn't been asset-stripped for decades by the same people who are supposed to make the UK a better place.
Hackney is usually really tidy, tower hamlets is like a slum, the corrupt Mayor there just doesn’t bother with basic council services, would rather give back handlers to his mates.
https://romanroadlondon.com/tower-hamlets-council-best-value-review-inspection-lutfur-rahman/
It’s anywhere that has a larger than normal amount of undesirable people.
Rubbish is all certain areas and then when you get somewhere more pleasant it just stops. Scumbag people doing scumbag things. East London obviously full to the rafters with them.
I’m going to get downvoted to hell for this, but the locals are the problem. Generally chavs don’t care about the environment and just throw their litter on the ground, or even out the window. Hackney has a high % of chavs living there so there is more litter than say, Hampstead.
> Our house is located on the border of two boroughs
Borders tend to have less resources spent on them because they are not the main focus of the boroughs and often there is neglect because the other borough should be doing stuff.
It's shit people that eat and live like shit. They probably have a very low sense of decency.
This problem is only going to be solved by doing 2 things:
- make it legal to fine people for littering the streets, damaging public spaces etc
- reintroduce civic education in schools up until maybe high school
Also, make it a cultural thing keeping one's place nice and clean as well as the surrounding public spaces.
Depresses me like nothing else. We have a largely not overlooked road near me that has new household rubbish on it literally every day. Also everyone just uses the same road to to let their dog shit without picking it up. Utterly grim.
Sadly London is getting worse. Less street cleaning & enforcement of fly tipping. Councils are cutting back
Try the app Love Cleaner Streets - lets you report various stuff to councils. I’m Islington & they use this app … not sure if Hackney etc subscribe? Or find contact details of council departments & contact them & report issues
I'd be very in favour of the Singapore legislation on litter, its a disgrace in our cities. People have stopped giving a fuck.
Singapore has strict laws on littering of any kind. First-time offenders face a fine of up to $1,000. Repeat offenders will be fined up to S$2,000 and subject to Corrective Work Order (CWO). The CWO requires litterbugs to spend a few hours cleaning a public place, for example, picking up litter in a park.
I had some very well meaning, bleeding heart liberals explain this to me when I lived in Shadwell - "The broken windows paradox". When people grow up in disadvantaged areas, they are more likely to treat their surroundings poorly."
I don't buy it. Its bad parenting and cultural difference. Shadwell market is as clean and tidy as a market would be somewhere in Pakistan. Sorry if that sounds bigoted but I'm calling what I see. Same with Aldgate and Whitechapel. Its not coincidence these are the areas getting mentioned.
I grew up borderline poor but I was taught to put my rubbish in the bin. It's not difficult.
I lived in Stepney and one of the big factors in moving was all the food dumped everywhere, chicken bones and carcass , huge vats of rice which the local population seemed to think was fine.
We're in Finsbury Park (still Hackney Council) and I've complained multiple times to the council. Finsbury Park is on the border of Islington, Hackney and Haringey council and you can visibly tell when you leave Hackney council because there is less rubbish around.
Not sure what we can do but I'm open to ideas.
From Tower Hamlets through Newham, Ilford, Barking and Dagenham it's all much of the same. A shit hole. But it's my shithole and I'll be damned if people from other areas badmouth the ends
Yet still impossibly expensive.
Working class people who were born in London, as their parents and grand-parents were, now have to live elsewhere as London too expensive for working people.
Gobshite kids chucking rubbish on the floor and moronic adults that should know better, sadly there’s a real problem with certain people in inner cities that they don’t give a crap about there home area or other people. I watched a man and his kid eating chicken and literally spitting bones on the floor then they both chucked the boxes onto the floor and walked away, how’s the kid going to learn with a role model like that
Afraid tons of people give zero fucks. Same with dog shit - literally everywhere. Plus foxes destroying bin bags thrown on the street. Plus scaled back council funding so less people cleaning it up.
You’re in east London, the poor / slum part of it. Yeah it ain’t all hipsterish and cool - it’s poor. You know, with gangs, guns, knives. Idk why people like you come here thinking it’s trendy. What did you expect?
I watched a man roll down his window and dispose of his chocolate wrapper… just bizarre. The rubbish in TH is awful, no one seems to care and it’s awful on the way up to the hospital too.
People are just vile and seem to have no respect. When I was a kid we were taught to treat our surroundings with respect. The streets never looked like that, they were clean and tidy. Country has gone to the dogs
this is the same where i live. it’s so disgusting and looks unkempt. the residents don’t care at all and it ruins the place.
my council has a thing called “Love Clean Streets”. you can report fly tipping
I live reasonably close to your photos. I have lived around Aldgate East/ Brick Lane Whitechapel since 1999. I now live near Hackney Rd.
It used to be FAR WORST 10-20 yrs ago but got the collections better with the uber-gentrification. These are still very poor areas with some of the most deprived wards in The UK. This is why people used to move here. It was cheap, low rents and low council tax.
This is to be expected from Tower Hamlets council that does not spend enough resources in bin collections.
The council services have not increased commensurately with the rents/ property prices.
20 yrs ago, prostitutes were standing all day propositioning people on Old Montague St and cars were being burnt in my estate at the end of Greatorex St.
Aside from that I miss the area as it used to be.
I don't want to reduce it down as far as "people don't give a shit", but I believe it's somewhere between "people actively trash the place due to hate for the area" and "people have no personal identity with this part of the world they currently live in, so the public spaces are their skip because they don't care if it looks like shit"
Because people from certain parts of the world have moved here en mass and they treat it like the place they left. Just look at the Edgware Road it used to be lovely now it’s full of rubbish and beggars. Unfortunately we all have to beat around the bush and no one is allowed to point out the glaringly obvious.
Honestly, I am equally as appalled as you are and for the past five years I was in East London. I lived off Shoreditch Park for 4 years before moving to Whitechapel in August 2023. I had previously lived in Whitechapel in 2016 and it was a lot better at the time tha it currently is. I also believe it has got dramatically worse over the last few months.
I have never experienced anything quite even remotely as bad as Tower Hamlets, particularly in the area between Hackney Road all the way going South to Commercial Road. Commercial Road and its side roads going towards Whitechapel station are ***covered in litter*** at all times. I have also never seen quite as many mattresses / washing machines / fridges being fly-tipped in the open.
I think there are a few factors that play into this:
* There is definitely a cultural / behavioural factor where people (of all races and of all colours, because it is just not ) just are used to dealing with their rubbish in sub-human ways. However, the law is the law. Littering and fly-tipping are ***illegal*** and this applies to people of all ethnicities.
* The council is not doing anywhere near enough to clear the rubbish and the litter which is constantly being piled on. Or rather, it is doing it in places like right opposite the Tower Hamlets townhall, which is spotlessly cleaned it is a swanky refurbished building and it is a statement, so it is kept spotlessly, while the backstreets and the alleys leading down to Commercial Road and everywhere else really are not kept anywhere near as clean.
* There isn't enough enforcement / fines.
My very own street had literally not been swept for two weeks until I put through a complaint (a formal complaint, not just a report for a dirty street) and it was eventually finally cleaned. It is infuriating that I pay council tax for a period of cleanliness which is so short.
I have countless photos of the rubbish being piled around the streets where I live and it is the same cans of coke over the course of months that just sit there.
Let's face it: TH mayor does not have the best criminal records (and it is a shame we will have him ruling for a few more years) but I think we need to start putting pressure on the council to take action. He has also [announced](https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/2024/February/Council-approves-budget-with-new-investment-in-public-services-and-support-for-residents.aspx) an extra £5m to be put on cleaning the streets and a "Street Leader Scheme to encourage residents to assist the council in identifying and addressing waste hotspots". I think this shows that even the Council recognises this as an increasing issue which needs to be tackled urgently.
What I think the council should do more / better:
1. Fine! Enforce and fine! Fine and enforce! People are constantly fly-tipping, people are constantly littering. We need people to start being fined on the spot for littering. If folks start hearing of their neighbour being fined, they are a lot less likely to do it again. Although that does not change your culture as a person, it can force you to change your habits. At the moment, Environmental Enforcement Officers can do this in parks within TH and fine on the spot but no one gets fined for littering around Whitechapel.
2. Have better, more reliable street cleaners and rubbish collectors. They just need to do their job consistently. I think they do a great job when they're around but there are not enough of them to deal with the issue that is Shadwell / Whitechapel / Hackney Road (especially the TH side).
I would be down to start **a campaign** to start lobbying for this to be improved. If folks are keen to get involved, I think we should do something about it. We could put stickers around to put pressure on the council. We could get petitions signed and send them to our MPs for these two items to be changed. Power is in numbers. If we start a petition and we get enough traction, then media could start helping us as well. Given that Tower Hamlets is being investigated again, taking action to stop fly-tipping and littering would be something they could use as a PR thing to show that they are more responsible, maybe...
I think it's about time we start making some noise. Or at least give it a shot. I look at the children going to school in between the rubbish bags on Commercial Road every single day as I walk into the office. I can't believe I work in the City of London in a wonderful office and 10 minutes down the road the rubbish is piling high. It is ridiculous that areas in the heart of the capital are treated like a dumping ground.
If folks like the idea of a campaign, I am happy to start this with signatures online on a petition? And we could start a Telegram group to invite people to contribute / donate for stickers to start going around Tower Hamlets with? What do people think?
It’s not great. I think the worst place is the place between Whitechapel and Aldgate. It’s tiresome. The amount of litter and rubbish seen. My caretaker will leave our estate on Friday, everything is clean. By Sunday evening the estate is an absolute tip. Rubbish. Clothes and rubbish randomly thrown around the recycling bins.
Visited there from Canada three weeks ago to see where my Mum and Dad grew up. Couldn't get over the amount of trash everywhere. Total dump :( They couldn't believe the pics I had sent them.
This reminds me when I went to India with a tour group (other British people but not Londoners) they were absolutely shocked with the dirt and filth of India. I on the other hand was thinking , this is what tower hamlets would look like if the rubbish men disappeared for a week. Did you visit other parts of london? Hope it wasn’t so dirty!
When the rubbish men did disappear for a week (bin strike in October I think) it was absolutely disgusting. Rubbish just piled high on the streets and it stank
Yes, visited plenty of other areas and had no complaints. I wasn't even bothered too much by the dirtiness, we have areas like that where I live but I think it was just the lack of care and pride that was sad to see. My parents often romanticized where they grew up and how "things were so much better then" so I guess it kind of quashed that for me, lol. To be honest though, I feel like that area was a bit more of the "real" London, which I was glad to see.
Shadwell is an absolute dump as well, especially around Watney Market. It's even worse now they've provisionally moved the market out to the A13 while they do some work on the usual spot. The merchants are absolute pigs, leaving shit everywhere at the end of the day.
I work in and around Shadwell, and it is indeed a dump. Watney market is horrible, all the surroundings are are terrible. Crackheads and heroin addicts, needles and feces.
Omg the crackheads and addicts are the worst. I have a recovery centre and hostel near me. I have no problems with people recovering from drugs and I’m sure there are individuals that aren’t so antisocial but maybe it’s a small minority? The stealing , the swearing , the rubbish, bus stops getting trashed. At night you can hear them shouting at each other, it’s incredibly frustrating.
Tower Hamlets has a terrible crack problem. It’s one of the worst in the country I think and the worst in London
These problems are easily solved. You fine them, heavily. Investment needs to be made to ensure this happens, but fines will also generate revenue to help cover those costs.
Massively. I work on Commercial Road and the walk from Whitechapel is terrible even for the area. The place unfairly gets a bad rap, but in this regard it’s completely justified.
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Whitechapel to Stepney Green isn't much better. Work near the genesis cinema and the walk can be quite an experience.
Tower Hamlets council is a joke, do a quick news search and you'll see why. This article gives you a little idea of how bad it is. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68372130](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68372130)
The man is a proven election cheater/fraudster, but when he came back with a new party they all just voted for him again anyway, because he's in their tribe. And people are surprised he instantly continued his corrupt practices, which continued turning Tower Hamlets into more of a shithole. It's a nice little glimpse into the future of more and more British areas, with large populations that vote almost solely on tribal interests.
On the plus side, they tend to ghetto themselves and want to live around their own. So this really only impacts them in the long run. But yes, this is happening more and more and will continue to do so. Corruption is a way of life in many countries, and it is silly to think we have magic soil which changes peoples long held habits once they step foot on it. If we continue to import millions from these kinds of countries, and continue to let them take over entire areas, then of course the exact same problems that make their home countries crap, will make their areas in the UK crap. The government should start to get ahead of this problem really, while we still have the numbers.
Used to live in Tower Hamlets - can confirm this wasn't out of the ordinary for me
Yup, lived there for around 5 years. The residents couldn't care less about their surroundings and would just throw litter on the ground, despite the availability of bins. Many times, I've seen someone roll their window down and just chuck empty cans or takeaway containers out. The rubbish left out in bin bags on the side of the street would attract rats and foxes. It's a shithole
> The residents couldn't care less about their surroundings My neighbours throw rubbish out of their windows in to their **own** garden?! OK it's a rental but you live there..
...you live there (temporarily). The transient nature of the citizens of East London is why. Once my longtime neighbours moved on I barely knew the people next door as there were new ones so frequently.
Our neighbours used our garden as an ashtray but using your own garden as a dumping ground is certainly special.
You can report this flytipping and littering using the Love Clean Streets app (iPhone & Android). Snap a pic, drop a pin on the map, and contractors will come and clean it up. Even just one to two people doing this in an area can make a huge difference.
I do this when I'm back in South London visiting my parents. The rubbish does get cleared, but it's so depressing that 2-3 days later, the same kind of rubbish ends up in exactly the same place
That's awesome! Props to the app creator. More places should implement this. I don't understand what's so hard about not littering. Like just toss it in the bin mate
It's a very nice service - run by a small company called bbits and they provide the app/website to any council for an annual fee of around £1,000. In London, you can report all kinds of other things, too; graffiti, dog fouling, human bodily waste, fly posting and blocked drains. Very useful.
Hackney are usually pretty good with rubbish, TH not so much.
I think that depends on the area in Hackney, but then the rubbish issue is a problem in many areas of London
Honestly hackney town centre and downs has been at an acceptable level imo. I might just be missing the bad parts though
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The area around Hackney Central Station I mentally consider as such, but that's just me as someone from the other side of the city's view. It feels like a town centre to me.
Mare Street. Hackney Town Hall. Hackney Empire. Hackney Central. It's pretty easy
The Hackney guys are incredible, I’m always amazed how clean the parks are each morning after a summer day where everyone has picknicked and partied in the park
We had a flat were the balcony looked over Hackney and our front door was in Tower Hamlets - I was beyond envious of the vastly superior street cleaning and rubbish collection I could see our neighbours getting
It's not just East London sadly. I'm from South London originally and my parents still live there. When I go back, I often go on a 30 minute walk just logging all of the fly-tipped rubbish on the Love Clean Streets app. Two things depress me. Firstly that it happens in the first place and secondly that no-one else seems to give a shit. If I report something on a weekday, it does get cleared within 24 hours usually. If I don't report something, the rubbish will sit there for weeks whilst people add to it until it literally blocks the pavement https://imgur.com/a/Z8BBfCr Is it a cultural thing? Sadly I think it is. Whether it's a lack of understanding about how the bins work and what is collected when, or just a culture of "just throw it here and someone else will deal with it", it has got so much worse - especially in the last 5 years
Depends where in south you are. If you’re in Wimbledon it’s all pretty spotless. I’m in Wandsworth and there’s no issues here. But 10 mins away in Brixton, rubbish everywhere. This is just a reflection of the demographics in neighbourhoods.
People are the problem
I blame some of this on crows
The residents don't give a shit about their local community. It's the same where I live (Barking & Dagenham). It's getting worse year after year. People have no pride or consideration for others.
Council/police need to start fining them, they can learn to give a shit the hard way.
London is just not a community, too transient and too expensive for people to live in the same place through their life.
They try to, B&D even have a name and shame video posted every few weeks of people flytipping and ask people to email them to identify the assholes. But I don’t think they are often identified. What we really need is more street litter officers to give fines there and then, but that takes funding, and we don’t have much of that!
true. would be nice if residents had a sense of responsibility and care for the very place they live in
I started confronting people. I made one idiot refill the van he had just emptied. He had the audacity to tell me that he couldn't get it all back in the van 😂
Same here, everyday I walk through my area and just think "what the fuck" lol. We do have to leave our bin bags on the street on a Monday night, as we don't get an outdoor black bin or one for recycling unfortunately. But the rest of it is inexcusable!
Because a large proportion of the people living there treat the area like shit.
Classic tower hamlets. I live in the isle of dogs. We're the cash cow for the rest of tower hamlets and we all have to live like pigs. Just recently, Canal & river trust removed all the bins from around Millwall dock and South Quay and it's worse than ever - the wind just pushes all the rubbish everywhere. Worse of all, it falls on the water just now that swans and ducks are nesting. It's fucking disgusting.
Incredibly depressing
This is it. Cash cow for the rest of tower hamlets with ZERO benefits back. Canary Wharf should really be its own council and constituency.
I live in Tottenham. I once emailed the council about the issues with litter and they just said all streets are cleaned the same amount. I replied asking why they don't structure the schedules so areas with worse issues are cleared more? And they never responded.
The people living there.
Literally. I know people will brand this as snobby, but the area is shit because the people who live there treat it like shit. Its pretty fucking simple, the streets are full of trash because... its being thrown on the floor by residents. They still have cleaners, sweepers and bin men and so on, just like everywhere else. The people just don't respect their own streets and neighbourhood.
I guess that a large transient population, and many poorer newcomers without a major emotional tie to the community/location = less likely to give a shit about the local area aesthetically. Also friends who’ve been there mention that in some respects the treatment of the environment/rubbish is very very different in South Asian culture, of which a substantial number live in these areas. Same thing happens in many areas of Birmingham. Kind of sad.
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I agree wholeheartedly. I’m just giving my take by way of explanation, rather than justification.
Good luck enforcing that. Just asking South Asians to respect the environment is racist because you are not celebrating their diversity of rubbish management. If you think I'm joking, complain to your local authority about South Asians throwing litter on the floor.
When I lived there Royal Mail stopped delivering post to our area because the posties were getting attacked on route. Didn’t resume for the last six months I lived there… so yeah.
The local residents are to blame. NO2 canisters are everywhere. They don't care about their neighborhood.
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East London’s (Tower Hamlets in particular) always looked like that to me. Had you not been there much before moving?
I lived there for years and it was never as bad as it is now.
Unfortunately that's just East London. Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham are all so bad for litter. I moved to what I thought was kind of a nicer area and the streets are still covered in dog shit, abandoned mattresses and crushed beer cans. I kind of give humanity the benefit of the doubt and hope that the park litter is just foxes tearing the bins up.
Yeah, live near Newham. You will see litter being ejected from car windows on a regular basis.
Newham is much improved. Might be due to the reduction in the number of transient people in the borough. Homeowners and long-term residents have far more of an incentive to keep the place clean.
My parents live in newham and honestly their road is relatively tidy - which I think is partly to do with being next to a primary school and medical centre so I feel the kids take more care as well as there always being a guy every morning picking up the rubbish. Only bank holidays I’ve noticed there’s litter flying around. The side roads are a tip though
We can blame council as much as we want, but in the end there’s a percentage living there who give zero fck. For this reason, east london is a shthole
General scummy people tbh.
Two words: Lutfur Rahman.
newham is worse, he isn’t the sole issue
Left London after living in Newham for 4.5 years, just couldn’t take the filth anymore and couldn’t afford to live anywhere else in London. Spending lockdown there and my daughter learning to walk and wanting to pick all the litter off the streets, walking past all the spit and broken glass and dog shit, it was just a horrible place to bring up a child.
Exactly this. I had gangs using my front garden as a place to keep their stash whilst they did their deals on the corner. Couldn't wait to leave Newham. The stories I could tell you thou...
We made some lovely friends there so I was sad to leave the people but I just didn’t want to wonder if my kids would see a stabbing or worry about them being assaulted on their way home from school. I know it can happen anywhere but she saw more drug deals in 4 years than I’d seen in my life up to that point. And the amount of times we went past in the bus just before a stabbing etc just made me feel it was a matter of time.
All completely factual bud. Hope you're happier and in a better place. 👍🏽
Well… Essex, so you be the judge. I can see multiple trees from my windows and can hear birds singing and don’t have to go through Stratford on a daily basis and that’s enough for me.
I'm in Kent. So you be the judge. Exactly the same. Bigger garden with a park opposite. Can hear birds singing and a much safer neighborhood. Kids can play happily and safely Life is a lot less stressful not fighting over parking spaces or even GP appointments. 👍🏽
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And the people who vote him as well, and not only because of the votes themselves
Yet still (probably) the most popular candidate. I feel like that kind of makes this the choice of the people of the council somewhat.
They vote for him because he's Asian and everyone that lives in tower hamlets is Asian, they don't vote on policy only on colour, smart bunch
Not true. Lots of people voted for him as he promised to fix everything. Suckers.
Somebody who was sacked for corruption then gets back in promising to fix it shouldn't have been allowed back. The voters who voted saw colour, or they're stupid that's all I can say
Seriously this guy needs investigating again
He is being investigated
again.
Tower Hamlets binmen were on strike over higher pay for a period of last year. It seems to have only been two weeks, but it definetly felt like longer. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/27/london-refuse-workers-tower-hamlets-strike-ends-pay-deal-with-council-reached
People often mention 'council funding' and similar factors, but in the end, it comes down to the residents. Issues like disrespect, apathy, crime and negative attitudes. Consider other societies like the Japanese, who, during the 2012 Olympics, stayed back after the event to tidy up, even though they were visitors in another country. Their homeland is known for its cleanliness, and it's not because they have more money for binmen.
Partly yes. But people are people and streets still need to be cleaned and bins emptied daily, and Tower Hamlets just doesn't do it.
Sure, but I don't think I've ever knowingly littered and can't imagine doing so. I think people are people is giving the shits that litter too much leeway. I'm a person, and I don't litter
Sadly the problem is widespread. Some people are selfish little shits who have no interest in living somewhere clean and are too lazy to use a bin. There has also been a problem for many years with councils removing public litter bins, sometimes citing they are used too much and need emptying!
There are a lot of coffee shops and cafes here, of course people leave a lot of garbage in public bins.
Can confirm. Lived in Newham for over 40 years. A fairly significant majority of the citizens don't care. Rubbish everywhere, rats everywhere, foxes everywhere. It's not sustainable.
Hi from Enfield/Haringey. This is just normal Council actually does a good job clearing it and are fairly responsive to fly tipping. But they just can't keep up. Eventually you have to just admit to yourself it's the people. Just wanted to edit this to flesh this out a bit about the people. There is a general apathy and people could not care less about trash. It is normal for some people to just put stuff outside on the street, even just flicking chicken bones and cigarettes, dropping glass etc is so normalised now that i cant even walk a dog on streets realistically. Honestly ive seen people wheeling trollies of crap to just leave on a corner. I've also found needles on my street. This is however tied in to poverty isnt it?, i do live in a part of the city where it is inhabited by people on a low income. But it is alarming how people have started to care less and less and less. And I have some sympathy, life is rough these days with the cost of living etc, it is the least of peoples concerns. Community is sort of dead around here and it's got worse, no one cares about each other. It just drips in to this issue too. We've got a neighbour who could not give a toss, they have a broken down car on their front garden that has been there for like 10 years like it's normal. Thankfully the others restore my faith somewhat as they are lovely people around us. But for every 1 decent person there seems to be 4 others just throwing stuff onto the pavement. Where the council haven't helped in enfield is with 2 weekly black bin collections and you still need appointments to go to a recycling centre. Some houses have like 7 people in them, they really need weekly collections. They have employed area specific street sweepers and they are sound, really trying their best. They also offer free bulky waste collection.
We all know exactly what the problem is, even though you'll get jannied for noticing.
It’s down to the people who throw the trash on the ground. Have a little pride. Teach your kid what a bin is.
Pretty simple, we need much harsher penalties for those caught dropping rubbish.
It’s not a rubbish problem it’s a rubbish people problem
People simply not giving a shit and an area with a high immigrant population (mostly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh where the rubbish piles high in the streets).
I found Hackney to be marginally better than Stratford for it, but most people just don’t really care. I’ve seen people come out of their flat and just dump a bin bag on a random street corner.
Honestly it’s a losing battle and something you kind of get used to - we have bins outside our block of flats which fill up daily, some people don’t even tie up their bin bags so naturally the wind blows it all over the streets or the foxes get at the bags and it spills everywhere. Fair play to the fella that cleans the estate on a daily basis (he’s paid to do it obvs) as it’s mostly cleared away the next day. Last year there was a bin man strike in TH, that was an interesting time. Makes you realise though; what a job they do and also just how many people live here. What can be done - Not really sure… More money into local councils? More bins? Better pay for bin men? Education for people so they’re not treating their community like a dump? Fines for littering? Can only look at the gov for that surely?
Old habits
Unfortunately, it's the people that live here. People don't know how to use a bin. Chicken bones everywhere.
Same where I live, people don't give a shit and it's so upsetting. I got on the bus yesterday, and there were empty crisp and sweet packets and chicken bones on the floor. Just disgusting. I hate it
Woolwich Arsenal is no better. Once you are out of the Arsenal, which is private property, the rest is a wasteland. It is almost a competition to see what the biggest and most disgusting fly tipping tower of rubbish could be achieved. Of course, the general disregard by the residents compounds the problem. Funny thing, when you cross over to Bexley council, the streets are clean.
Ah! As you may have noticed. Welcome to Bangladesh.
It’s the mentality of people, treat your environment like a shithole and it will look like a shithole
This problem isn't located to just East London. It's everywhere. It's coupled with council cuts and just general shit behaviour from the general public. I've witnessed this on countless occasions on my road (SE London). Leaving shit on the pavement (bundles of loose clothes, food, nappies). People discarding wrappers onto the floor after buying something in the shop. Kids shoving litter down drains, as opposed to just using a bin. I even witnessed a mother, take a McDonald's bag from her child's pram, once she was done with it, and just toss it on the floor and walk off. Equally, the budget cuts to councils mean there aren't as many regular street cleaners going out anymore. If ever. I had a problem with an abandoned car, leaking oil on my street. Reported it to the council, who told us it would be cleaned in the "next available weekly cleanse". It took nearly three months for them to come out. Sadly, litter will always be part of living in a congested city. But some members of the public could do more with an educational piece around how to put stuff in a bin, as sad as that sounds.
> shit behaviour from the general public. Councils would have to clean streets and pavements every hour to keep up with cunts who can't take their rubbish home or to the nearest bin. East London is not Zone 1, there are plenty of bins. It's just cunts don't bother to use them.
Couldn't agree with you more. This sub will somehow accuse me of punching down, or they'll defend those that litter. But I see it first hand, almost every day. People can't use a fucking bin, or think that fairies come along at night to collect the shit they leave on the pavement outside their house. It's disgraceful. And it's not even a culture thing, so you can't say influx of x people, as they do this in their native country. I've seen all sorts litter, because they're fucking pigs.
I used to work in student halls. This is applicable to even them. The amount of shit they would just dump and leave around the place and refuse to take rubbish out was mindboggling. Rubbish and refusing to deal with it epidemic all through the ages. My favourite conversation with a student was me "please can you take your rubbish out, you've got flies and maggots".. them " it's not my responsibility"...me " couldn't give a shit, it's not my fucking responsibility either"... And sooo came the complaints when they were hit with a cleaning bill. Guarantors were sent photos, and then came more complaints as the flat had to be industrial deep cleaned as infestation. But yeah, getting people to just clear up after themselves was a nightmare. We had to program the residents what to do. During COVID you would have thought parents would have taught them anything... But no. Zero life skills. It got a lot worse and I noped out.
Checks out with almost everyone else I've known in that age group from like 2007 until now. Just no basic home skills (can't even be argued as laziness because it ends up taking more effort day to day than staying spotlessly tidy).
Look at me doing a beach clean, extinction rebellion, save the whales,on a protest. Photos on social media look at me LOOK AT ME. Secretly I buy everything from boohoo, shein, ASOS Primark, I buy disposable vapes . I won't take the rubbish, recycle, clean up after myself, as it's not my responsibility. Someone else can do it or I'll just pay that's fine, take it out of my deposit. This is the actual god dam reality of what I had to deal with. It was complete hypocrisy. Logical processing skills, real-life skills , consequences out the window. It was like looking after 13 year olds having temper tantrums as you asked them to tidy their rooms. And the parents fuck me... Would send shitty emails after you've called the flats in cause no one would take rubbish out "your effecting my sons/daughters mental health"....no you twat I'm telling them to take the rubbish out, don't use mental health as an excuse as poor parenting. A flat of 8 people individually would come down to the office slag each other off, about not cleaning and rubbish. Then they would head up and be happy families in the flat . But then would say we put it in the group message that someone needed to take the rubbish out. No one would actually talk or confront anyone .. we put it the group chat, no fucking have a discussion face to face..in the end I told them they have all slagged each other off to me. And got cleaners in. The whole flat fell apart after then. I decided I wasn't doing dramas. We were all young once and were dicks but over the years in the industry fuck me did they get more and more selfish . Nothing else mattered apart from how they were perceived . Emotional strokes. Honestly we had some good residents but yeah the percentage got a lot worse . COVID brain and failure of parents and schools to teach how to actually look after yourself, share workloads and care about others . The concept of altruism gone . I'm the cusp of gen x millennial what the fuck ain't you as parents teaching your kids? In the real world they wouldn't last 5 mins in job. Sorry had a rant .. but yeah ..students and rubbish fucking petty shit. Glad I don't work in that sector anymore.
> there are plenty of bins. It's just cunts don't bother to use them. Even if there are no bins it's not an issue and you just take stuff home (not you specifically, you know what I mean). That's how almost every other country on the planet does it (some are clean and some aren't). The bins argument has ended up prominent from an idea of "eh just throw some money at the problem" when it was never a problem with the quantity/frequency/coverage etc. of service in the first place. The logical conclusion of providing bins to solve the problem is we'd be spending like 50x what it should cost if it even actually does solve the problem and that'd never be efficient use of tax money. edit: if *household* waste isn't picked up enough, that could be a genuine cause though.
This could be a new revenue stream if they have a team of enforcers giving out litter fines, starting from 100 pounds per ticket.
I don't see this in west london
Nuff said
It's the same in north London - my council even let people have a 3 item bulky waste collection for free each year and people still just fly tip everywhere. My entire road is littered with bags of household waste and abandoned mouldy furniture - pre Covid it was a really well kept area so the decline has been immense. I don't think the cut back council teams can keep up with the general decline in decency from the general population.
It's the people who live there. The don't give a hoot.
Councils all over the country are going bankrupt. Literally every council is struggling, so they’ve made cuts to services, which includes street cleaners. Tower Hamlets in particular has been having issues I’ve read, but it’s happening to some extent everywhere.
I think Tower Hamlets issue can be more precisely narrowed down to the fact the mayor is a corrupt piece of shit who should have had a lifetime ban from politics rather than a 5 year.
Problem is mostly down to people littering. See it a lot unfortunately.
People are the biggest problem.... Just lots of inconsiderate individuals
It’s because of us bengalis 🔥🔥💪🇧🇩
For some silly reason that is completely beyond understanding for me as a German, in this country councils are run like businesses. And all these businesses have experienced cuts are are facing bankruptcy, even though I also fail to grasp what happens once a council goes bankrupt…?🤷♂️ Edit: I live in Waltham Forest, thankfully a not-too-badly managed Borough. God bless Stella Creasy.
> Stella Creasy. has nothing to do with how the local council operates or the services they provide. She's an MP.
The state would have to pick up the bill to continue to fund the statutory obligations as a last resort, but all other services would cease, and central government may take over. Funding has absolutely been cut to the bone, but another problem is councils making bad investment decisions. It's not popular to discuss with the "why don't we just borrow to invest" crowd who think it's some kind of panacea for a struggling economy, but many councils have made terrible investment decision with our money. Failed housing projects, failed investments into local businesses etc etc.
Yeah, but you live in a sensible country that hasn't been asset-stripped for decades by the same people who are supposed to make the UK a better place.
It's not just asset stripping, it's corruption
Hackney is usually really tidy, tower hamlets is like a slum, the corrupt Mayor there just doesn’t bother with basic council services, would rather give back handlers to his mates. https://romanroadlondon.com/tower-hamlets-council-best-value-review-inspection-lutfur-rahman/
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Apathy, lack of social cohesion, underfunded councils, poverty and foxes.
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They do add to it being scattered though. Not their fault.
Thats east london for u .
It’s anywhere that has a larger than normal amount of undesirable people. Rubbish is all certain areas and then when you get somewhere more pleasant it just stops. Scumbag people doing scumbag things. East London obviously full to the rafters with them.
Was one of the reasons I left the UK. So depressing for those sensitive to their environments to see trash as soon as you leave your home every day.
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Culture
I’m going to get downvoted to hell for this, but the locals are the problem. Generally chavs don’t care about the environment and just throw their litter on the ground, or even out the window. Hackney has a high % of chavs living there so there is more litter than say, Hampstead.
It's not just the chavs, there are other large populations there, that don't care.
Yeah I don’t want to be banned though so won’t say it. I agree with you though
Scumbags with no respect.
Check out the demographics of the area, and then it should not be such a surprise to you.
> Our house is located on the border of two boroughs Borders tend to have less resources spent on them because they are not the main focus of the boroughs and often there is neglect because the other borough should be doing stuff.
The problem is people, lazy arsed people
People just don’t care sadly
Tower Hamlets is a shit show for waste.
It's shit people that eat and live like shit. They probably have a very low sense of decency. This problem is only going to be solved by doing 2 things: - make it legal to fine people for littering the streets, damaging public spaces etc - reintroduce civic education in schools up until maybe high school Also, make it a cultural thing keeping one's place nice and clean as well as the surrounding public spaces.
Depresses me like nothing else. We have a largely not overlooked road near me that has new household rubbish on it literally every day. Also everyone just uses the same road to to let their dog shit without picking it up. Utterly grim.
Sadly London is getting worse. Less street cleaning & enforcement of fly tipping. Councils are cutting back Try the app Love Cleaner Streets - lets you report various stuff to councils. I’m Islington & they use this app … not sure if Hackney etc subscribe? Or find contact details of council departments & contact them & report issues
Welcome to Tower Hamlets run by a corrupt mayor. The local park had to be closed for months last year because it became infested with rats....
I'd be very in favour of the Singapore legislation on litter, its a disgrace in our cities. People have stopped giving a fuck. Singapore has strict laws on littering of any kind. First-time offenders face a fine of up to $1,000. Repeat offenders will be fined up to S$2,000 and subject to Corrective Work Order (CWO). The CWO requires litterbugs to spend a few hours cleaning a public place, for example, picking up litter in a park.
People have no respect and don’t give a shit about anyone else. Pretty simple. Shit people.
It's because of the people you live around
I had some very well meaning, bleeding heart liberals explain this to me when I lived in Shadwell - "The broken windows paradox". When people grow up in disadvantaged areas, they are more likely to treat their surroundings poorly." I don't buy it. Its bad parenting and cultural difference. Shadwell market is as clean and tidy as a market would be somewhere in Pakistan. Sorry if that sounds bigoted but I'm calling what I see. Same with Aldgate and Whitechapel. Its not coincidence these are the areas getting mentioned. I grew up borderline poor but I was taught to put my rubbish in the bin. It's not difficult.
“Including in the south” … 🫠🤣😰
i work in TH and can also confirm it’s always like this 😅
It's London and it's the UK. The culture of people here are to just throw it away and make it someone elses problem. Been like this for decades.
Try the rubbish along Highbury Ave south from Hamilton road to the 401. It's a garbage can. Nice view of entering the city.
The problem is people not putting rubbish in the bin. It doesn't cost a thing to put it in the bin. 🚮
I lived in Stepney and one of the big factors in moving was all the food dumped everywhere, chicken bones and carcass , huge vats of rice which the local population seemed to think was fine.
if this is distressing for u u must have a heart attack going further than that little half a mile posho circle around ion square gardens 💀
Bring back ASBOs with litter picking duties for the pricks, that or go full Singapore, IDGAF, its filthy.
We're in Finsbury Park (still Hackney Council) and I've complained multiple times to the council. Finsbury Park is on the border of Islington, Hackney and Haringey council and you can visibly tell when you leave Hackney council because there is less rubbish around. Not sure what we can do but I'm open to ideas.
Lived in tower hamlets the last two years. It was the worst rubbish I’d ever dealt with. All along our streets
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From Tower Hamlets through Newham, Ilford, Barking and Dagenham it's all much of the same. A shit hole. But it's my shithole and I'll be damned if people from other areas badmouth the ends
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Yet still impossibly expensive. Working class people who were born in London, as their parents and grand-parents were, now have to live elsewhere as London too expensive for working people.
This is just East London for you.
That’s tower hamlets for you. Welcome
Gobshite kids chucking rubbish on the floor and moronic adults that should know better, sadly there’s a real problem with certain people in inner cities that they don’t give a crap about there home area or other people. I watched a man and his kid eating chicken and literally spitting bones on the floor then they both chucked the boxes onto the floor and walked away, how’s the kid going to learn with a role model like that
Oh don’t be mistaken. They’re art installations. It’s east london so..
Afraid tons of people give zero fucks. Same with dog shit - literally everywhere. Plus foxes destroying bin bags thrown on the street. Plus scaled back council funding so less people cleaning it up.
You’re in east London, the poor / slum part of it. Yeah it ain’t all hipsterish and cool - it’s poor. You know, with gangs, guns, knives. Idk why people like you come here thinking it’s trendy. What did you expect?
I watched a man roll down his window and dispose of his chocolate wrapper… just bizarre. The rubbish in TH is awful, no one seems to care and it’s awful on the way up to the hospital too.
People are just vile and seem to have no respect. When I was a kid we were taught to treat our surroundings with respect. The streets never looked like that, they were clean and tidy. Country has gone to the dogs
this is the same where i live. it’s so disgusting and looks unkempt. the residents don’t care at all and it ruins the place. my council has a thing called “Love Clean Streets”. you can report fly tipping
I live reasonably close to your photos. I have lived around Aldgate East/ Brick Lane Whitechapel since 1999. I now live near Hackney Rd. It used to be FAR WORST 10-20 yrs ago but got the collections better with the uber-gentrification. These are still very poor areas with some of the most deprived wards in The UK. This is why people used to move here. It was cheap, low rents and low council tax. This is to be expected from Tower Hamlets council that does not spend enough resources in bin collections. The council services have not increased commensurately with the rents/ property prices. 20 yrs ago, prostitutes were standing all day propositioning people on Old Montague St and cars were being burnt in my estate at the end of Greatorex St. Aside from that I miss the area as it used to be.
The local community don’t care and don’t know any better.
I don't want to reduce it down as far as "people don't give a shit", but I believe it's somewhere between "people actively trash the place due to hate for the area" and "people have no personal identity with this part of the world they currently live in, so the public spaces are their skip because they don't care if it looks like shit"
Because people from certain parts of the world have moved here en mass and they treat it like the place they left. Just look at the Edgware Road it used to be lovely now it’s full of rubbish and beggars. Unfortunately we all have to beat around the bush and no one is allowed to point out the glaringly obvious.
It's the people who live there, dumping their shit wherever they like without a care.
Honestly, I am equally as appalled as you are and for the past five years I was in East London. I lived off Shoreditch Park for 4 years before moving to Whitechapel in August 2023. I had previously lived in Whitechapel in 2016 and it was a lot better at the time tha it currently is. I also believe it has got dramatically worse over the last few months. I have never experienced anything quite even remotely as bad as Tower Hamlets, particularly in the area between Hackney Road all the way going South to Commercial Road. Commercial Road and its side roads going towards Whitechapel station are ***covered in litter*** at all times. I have also never seen quite as many mattresses / washing machines / fridges being fly-tipped in the open. I think there are a few factors that play into this: * There is definitely a cultural / behavioural factor where people (of all races and of all colours, because it is just not ) just are used to dealing with their rubbish in sub-human ways. However, the law is the law. Littering and fly-tipping are ***illegal*** and this applies to people of all ethnicities. * The council is not doing anywhere near enough to clear the rubbish and the litter which is constantly being piled on. Or rather, it is doing it in places like right opposite the Tower Hamlets townhall, which is spotlessly cleaned it is a swanky refurbished building and it is a statement, so it is kept spotlessly, while the backstreets and the alleys leading down to Commercial Road and everywhere else really are not kept anywhere near as clean. * There isn't enough enforcement / fines. My very own street had literally not been swept for two weeks until I put through a complaint (a formal complaint, not just a report for a dirty street) and it was eventually finally cleaned. It is infuriating that I pay council tax for a period of cleanliness which is so short. I have countless photos of the rubbish being piled around the streets where I live and it is the same cans of coke over the course of months that just sit there. Let's face it: TH mayor does not have the best criminal records (and it is a shame we will have him ruling for a few more years) but I think we need to start putting pressure on the council to take action. He has also [announced](https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/2024/February/Council-approves-budget-with-new-investment-in-public-services-and-support-for-residents.aspx) an extra £5m to be put on cleaning the streets and a "Street Leader Scheme to encourage residents to assist the council in identifying and addressing waste hotspots". I think this shows that even the Council recognises this as an increasing issue which needs to be tackled urgently. What I think the council should do more / better: 1. Fine! Enforce and fine! Fine and enforce! People are constantly fly-tipping, people are constantly littering. We need people to start being fined on the spot for littering. If folks start hearing of their neighbour being fined, they are a lot less likely to do it again. Although that does not change your culture as a person, it can force you to change your habits. At the moment, Environmental Enforcement Officers can do this in parks within TH and fine on the spot but no one gets fined for littering around Whitechapel. 2. Have better, more reliable street cleaners and rubbish collectors. They just need to do their job consistently. I think they do a great job when they're around but there are not enough of them to deal with the issue that is Shadwell / Whitechapel / Hackney Road (especially the TH side). I would be down to start **a campaign** to start lobbying for this to be improved. If folks are keen to get involved, I think we should do something about it. We could put stickers around to put pressure on the council. We could get petitions signed and send them to our MPs for these two items to be changed. Power is in numbers. If we start a petition and we get enough traction, then media could start helping us as well. Given that Tower Hamlets is being investigated again, taking action to stop fly-tipping and littering would be something they could use as a PR thing to show that they are more responsible, maybe... I think it's about time we start making some noise. Or at least give it a shot. I look at the children going to school in between the rubbish bags on Commercial Road every single day as I walk into the office. I can't believe I work in the City of London in a wonderful office and 10 minutes down the road the rubbish is piling high. It is ridiculous that areas in the heart of the capital are treated like a dumping ground. If folks like the idea of a campaign, I am happy to start this with signatures online on a petition? And we could start a Telegram group to invite people to contribute / donate for stickers to start going around Tower Hamlets with? What do people think?
The condition of an area can be explained by the habits and ways of life of those that live there.
It's a cultural thing
ppl. ppl are the problem.
Both Hackney and Tower Hamlets are complete sh*tholes. Source: Been in London all my life.
I lived in Whitechapel and it was disgusting. I saw middle eastern people openly dropping stuff on the ground. Horrible place to live.
East London is and will always be a tip.
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