Residents and traders in Hanwell say they have “had enough” of years of persistent fly-tipping outside two donation banks on Bordars Road – one run by the Salvation Army for clothing and another for electrical recycling operated by Easy Hire Services.
Angry locals say the pair of bins have become a magnet for dumped goods, with piles of clothing, electrical items and other rubbish spilling onto the pavement and into nearby parking spaces. Both the electrical recycling and clothing bins are now regularly surrounded by items strewn across the street.
One shopkeeper told EALING.NEWS: “The overflowing of clothing and other items in and around the donation banks makes the area look dirty and is causing a health and safety issue.”
They added: “People have to be extra careful walking here and parking their vehicles. We have had enough of it and I spend so much time contacting both the council and also the Salvation Army to take action.”
They added: “The Salvation Army donation bank displays a notice warning that fly-tipping is a criminal offence and that CCTV surveillance is in place, yet this does not seem to deter the persistent mess left around it.”
Alongside piles of electrical goods and clothing, residents and local shop owners say dumped food and household waste is also attracting vermin, including rats, which rummage through the mess.
Locals have been urging both Ealing Council and the Salvation Army to act, but claim the problem has worsened in recent months.
One resident who uses the local shops told EALING.NEWS: “Drivers who park in the two parking spaces next to the donation banks have to be careful when parking as this mess often ends up in those parking spaces.”
Another local added: “It’s a mess and attracting rats. It looks horrible and just encourages more and more people to fly-tip around these donation banks. These donation banks really need to go.”
Ealing Council said it was aware of the issue and recently cleaned it up. A spokesperson told EALING.NEWS that it is in discussions with contractors about the fly-tipping in Bordars Road and is looking at moving the bins to another location. They said: “Our clean teams went to Bordars Road to clear the excess waste. The council is in discussions with contractors about this location and we are looking at moving the bins somewhere else. In addition, we are working with LAGER Can to address fly-tipping in the area.”
A Salvation Army spokesperson told EALING.NEWS it has plans to remove its donation bank: “Our Hanwell, West London bank is a busy site and is generally collected from 5 days a week. It has now been cleared. Before this incident plans were underway to remove the Hanwell bank as we have a number of other local clothing donation points in the area.
“We are saddened to hear about the littering around these banks and the disruption and mess. Our clothing bank collectors clear any fly-tipping with every collection from each site.
“As a church and charity, we rely on the generosity of the public to help support our work. Our banks are emptied on a regular basis, often daily. Through our collection banks we are diverting clothes from landfill and disposal and giving them a new lease of life – while raising money for our work in communities across the United Kingdom.”
