The Kensington and Chelsea Environment Select Committee met on 15 September 2025 to discuss waste collection, recycling, street cleaning, and initiatives to improve the borough's streetscapes. Councillors reviewed the progress of food waste collection, recycling rates, and street cleaning services, and they considered new strategies for street greening and decluttering. The committee also agreed to recommend a revision of the council's policy on A-boards¹.

Waste Collection, Recycling, and Street Cleansing

Councillors were updated on the council's waste collection, recycling and street cleansing services, with a focus on expanding food waste collection and enhancing street cleanliness.

• Food Waste Collection: The council is expanding weekly food waste collections to all households by March 2026, funded by the government's Simpler Recycling policy. As of August 2025, 24,691 of 50,854 eligible kerbside households have been offered separate weekly collections, and 52 estates (4,216 households) have communal food waste bins. The council is working to find solutions for households with limited external space for caddies, such as flats above shops. Cllr Toby Benton raised the issue of hygiene and vermin, asking:

  However, surely, if they're kept in some households that are maybe not the most hygienic households, does it not attract vermin? Would it not create more appetite for vermin to...?

  Officers responded that there had been no reports of this being a problem so far.

• Recycling Initiatives: The council aims to increase its recycling rate, despite challenges such as a transient population, lack of space, and limited garden waste. The council has a detailed work plan, the Recycling and Reduction Plan (RRP), approved by the Mayor of London, to reduce waste, promote a circular economy and increase recycling. A new waste Reduction and Recycling Strategy (RRP) for 2026-2029 is being drafted to reflect changes in Simpler Recycling legislation.

• Street Cleaning: Streets are divided into zones with varying levels of service. Z-Zones (main high streets) receive a 24/7 service, Zone 1 (main streets off Z zones) receive a 7-day-a-week service, and Zone 2 (residential streets) have a service Monday to Friday and a rapid response service over weekends.

• Time Banding: Time banding² was introduced across nine town centres earlier in 2025 to improve street aesthetics and reduce the time waste can be presented for collection. Initial feedback has been positive, and the scheme is being extended to Holland Park Avenue and Draycott Avenue later this year. Since the launch of Time Banding, the Street Enforcement Team have served 22 Section 47 Notices (receptacle management notices) and 36 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs). A detailed review of Time Banding will take place early next year once the scheme has been operating for one year.

• Graffiti Removal and Street Washing: Additional jet washing and graffiti removal services have been conducted since 2023. Graffiti removal is now a proactive service, with 373 pieces of graffiti removed in June 2025, of which only 11 were reported via Streetline.

• Cleanest Streets Proposal: The council is considering a range of street cleansing proposals, including additional street cleaning operatives, a clear-all crew, a street washing crew, and enhanced litter bin emptying at weekends.

Street Greening and Decluttering

The committee discussed initiatives to green borough streets, reinforce their character, and make the borough more liveable.

• Street Greening Initiatives: The council plan outlines priorities to deliver greener neighbourhoods and cleaner air. Amazing Spaces schemes have been delivered at St Helen's Gardens and Chelsea Green (2023), Bute Street and Hollywood Road (2024), and Sloane Street, Hogarth Road and Draycott Street (2025). The council has exceeded its commitment of planting 400 new trees, planting more than 500 in streets, parks and housing estates since 2022/23.
• Decluttering Borough Streets: The council aims to minimise street clutter by challenging the necessity and design of new street furniture and carefully controlling new street furniture, advertisements and signs. The Street Enforcement Team (SET) checks the validity of licences for scaffolding, skips, building materials, tables and chairs for restaurants, and structures, issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for noncompliance.

• A-Boards: The council's policy on A-boards is complex. In the borough's nine principal high streets, premises that place A-boards on the highway are asked to remove them under sections 137 and 148 of the Highways Act 1980. In other areas, Street Enforcement Officers assess whether the item can be permitted to remain on the highway. Cllr Joanna Gardner said that the current policy was not fit for purpose:

  I think that the point of the, including in this report was, some colleagues actually show how complex and not fit for purpose that I knew he was back in 2010. So I know my colleague Andrew Burton has got it on his to-do list this year. So I know licensing is being talked about as well. So I will ask him to feedback. But he is aware that it is a growing concern for people. And we are trying to declutter. And there does seem to be more and more e-boards out there, which are cause an issue. So it is on the to-do list, just to give you a level of assurance.

  The committee agreed to recommend a revision of the council's policy on A-boards.

• E-Bike Management: The council lacks the power to proactively regulate dockless rental e-bikes until HM Government enacts the provisions of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. Each operator in RBKC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to operate in a socially responsible way, but sanctions for noncompliance are not always sufficient.

• Shopfront Design Guide: The council has created bespoke guidance for Earl's Court Road District Centre's characterful shops and businesses to bring a unified design identity to the high street and remove visual clutter.

Select Committee Work Programme 2025/2026

The committee reviewed its work programme for the municipal year 2025/2026, which includes scrutiny of council services, policies, and strategies, as well as external issues affecting the borough.