Councillor Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, and Councillor Bassam Mahfouz joined recycling advisers going door to door in Hanwell.

Councillor Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, and Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure, joined a special team of recycling advisors going door to door giving advice and support to residents on how to use the new alternate weekly collection service.

The advisors have visited more than 10,000 households so far and expect to visit in excess of 20,000 in total.

Councillor Bell and Councillor Mahfouz joined the team as they visited residents in Hobbayne ward on Friday, 5 August 2016. The councillors paired up with the recycling advisors to go door knocking on Shakespeare Road, meeting some of the residents and providing them with additional hints and tips about recycling.

It also offered the councillors the valuable opportunity to hear feedback directly from residents about the new waste service since it was rolled out on 6 June.

Earlier in the week, the team was talking to residents living in flats above shops in South Ealing; some of whom had been leaving their black sacks on the street instead of using their collection service on the correct day.

Evidence gathered by council officers and collection crews indicates that these properties, as well as houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) are the source of many of the black sacks being dumped on the borough’s streets since 6 June 2016.

The visits are intended to initially offer extra help and support to residents. However, if the same problems persist, they may be referred to the council’s fly-tipping team for enforcement action which could result in a fixed penalty notice of £400 being issued or criminal prosecution.

Councillor Mahfouz said: “The new service is working well for the majority of residents and by making recycling so easy we have seen recycling rates jump from 48% to 55% in the first month. The residents I met this afternoon spoke very positively about the new service and is pleased with the new wheelie bins. I want to thank residents for recycling and encourage people to recycle even more."

“We are visiting some households that have experienced ongoing issues or who need extra support so that we resolve problems and ensure people know how to put out their bins and what they can recycle."

“However where we come across people dumping rubbish bags on our streets enforcement action will follow.”

Councillor Bell said: “There is plenty of general support and advice available, but we know that some people respond better to the personal touch. We are determined to get to the bottom of why some people are experiencing persistent issues with the new service and we want to put in place long-term solutions that fix them once and for all.”