Pride’s most colourful clean up

Pride Parade is one of Westminster's largest celebrations, with thousands of spectators joining in on the day’s fun. Veolia manages the clear up operation on behalf of Westminster City Council, and to mark the 50th anniversary of the event, took great pride in switching some of their usual street cleansing equipment for multi-coloured alternatives.

Simon Raven, street cleansing foreman from Veolia, said: “It was nice to support the LGBT+ community through our rainbow coloured equipment. People were approaching us to take photos and some said we could have joined the parade, however we were more than happy to deliver a colourful clean up, making sure the day’s spirit was carried out until the last of the recycling and waste was removed.”

To clean up after the parade, Veolia deployed over 30 vehicles and 115 staff. They expect to have collected around over 55 tonnes of recycling and waste. Recyclables collected from the parade route will be sent to Veolia’s Southwark recycling facility for sorting, and any non recyclable waste will be sent to its SELCHP Energy Recovery Facility, to be turned into low carbon energy to heat and power local homes.

Westminster City Council deputy leader Tim Mitchell said: “We’re proud to be able to host one of the largest LGBT+ celebrations in the world right in the heart of Westminster. Our waste and recycling teams work incredibly hard to make sure the streets are clean and clear as soon as possible after Pride. It really is a mammoth effort and part of what makes Westminster such a great place to live and visit.”