Litter

In recent weeks, we've been looped in to a few emails to the Council from Brockley residents disgusted by litter, particularly around Brockley Station. On Monday lunchtime, we sat outside the Broca, looking out for plastic bags rolling past like tumbleweed. But we couldn't really see any problem.

The dumping of free newspapers outside the station is a specific problem, which the Council have taken steps to remedy by adding more and more recycling bins, but they are fighting a losing battle against a rising tide. This is a London-wide problem and there is a campaign to make publishers more responsible for the waste they are generating. It's called Project Freesheet. We think that issue should be treated seperately from the wider question of street litter.

Brockley has its unloved areas and flytipping sites, like virtually any part of London outside Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea and it's right not to ignore the problems. Brockley Road is a mess, but that's more to do with the state of the shops, the street furniture and the pavement than the litter - although admittedly, it can be a problem, with fried chicken boxes a particular blight. But, by London standards, we think Brockley's pretty good, certainly around the Brockley and Telegraph Hill Conservation Areas and Crofton Park station. It's also blessed with relatively few dog lovers, which means that there is far less dog muck on the streets than we became accustomed to in Greenwich and Charlton.

What do you think of the problem and where are the worst sites?