Here today, gone tomorrow
September 2nd 2008

Tackling graffiti might seem a futile task – it reappears almost as fast as it is removed. But the London Borough of Hackney is making steady progress and now removes 97 per cent of reported graffiti within 24 hours. Cleaning Matters saw area environmental manager Glen Whitby and his team in action

Like any London borough, Hackney has its work cut out tackling graffiti, but over the last two years has made genuine progress: The council claims of the graffiti reported to it, 97 per cent is removed within 24 hours, vastly improving the environment for residents.

So what’s behind Hackney’s success? According to area environmental manager,Glen Whitby, additional funding (secured in 2006 from the Local Area Agreement), dedicated in-house and contracted removal teams – and good old fashioned elbow grease.

The eight removal teams (three in house and five sub contractors) each tackle a specific zone of the borough.The vans – complete with trailer-mounted pressure washer, removal wipes, numerous cleaning solutions and disinfectant – move methodically through the area, removing not only reported graffiti, but any other graffiti they spot along the way.The approach both improves the local environment – and the council’s LEQSE scores.

Once complete, the teams return to the beginning of the zone, removing any new additions to the recently cleaned sites. Glen Whitby, who manages the graffiti removal units, says this keeps residents happy, as they see a consistent, sustained effort, and acts as a deterrent – of sorts.“They [the graffiti ‘artists’] know an area is being monitored, cleaned, and whatever they do won’t last long.”

Not that he’s under any illusions.Catching them is extremely difficult.However, he says specific zone information built up by the removal teams does provide ‘intelligence’ of when graffiti is most likely to appear, for example, on a Friday night.“We can set up surveillance at that point and try to catch people in the act, but it’s tricky.”

He says part of the problem is that penalties are relatively soft, and many of the perpetrators are under 18. Prosecuting fly posters, he says, is far more successful, because it is easier to target a known company than an unknown individual.

Removal method

All jobs are cordoned off and photographed before work starts, which proves that work has been completed and carried out in accordance with council procedures. It also serves as protection from litigation.“One lady tried to claim a supposed £800 coat had been damaged to do lack of signage around wet paint,” says Whitby.“But we had photographic evidence to prove this was not the case.”

Although armed with a mobile pressure washer, Hackney’s approach is to use the least environmentally damaging approach and work upwards.The bulk of the work involves wipes, cleaning solution (chemicals all supplied by Imperial Janitorial Services), and some traditional hard graft, according to Whitby.

“A bit of elbow grease is far better than pressure washing the whole street,” he says.“Manufacturers used to approach us regularly touting top of the range kit. But you don’t really need high pressure – and you don’t need to spend £15,000 on it. High pressure means you risk damage to the building, creates more mess and is a greater hazard to the public.We find that only low pressure washing is needed to remove solution reside after the wipes have done the trick.”

That’s not to say graffiti isn’t becoming harder to remove.As Tony Vinton (pictured with co-worker Iris Ellis), confirms.“They are getting crafty - adding glue to the paint to make it stick. But so far there hasn’t been a job I haven’t been able to handle.”Vinton and Ellis say the work gives them tremendous satisfaction.

Once removed, the team then advises residents as to how to minimise graffiti’s impact through, for example, choice of shop shutters, anti-graffiti measures such as coatings, and how to remove it themselves with minimum effort.

The result is a happier borough. A MORI poll conducted in 2001 found 74 per cent of residents to be unhappy with the local environment.The most recent figure is 47 per cent.“We’ve seen vast improvements over the past couple of years,” says Whitby.“Now we have the resources to do the extra jobs that always come up.We have the budget and it’s a case of spending it wisely.”

With the 2012 Olympics approaching, there is an increasing focus on East London and its environment.To make it spotless is an almost Herculean task. But with Whitby and his dedicated clean up teams, the writing is definitely not on the wall.

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