New £18,000 boost for war on street litter across Harrogate

Councillor Andrew Parasksos pictured with the new waste vacuum cleaner before its deployment on the streets of Harrogate

To bolster its efforts in the battle to improve the environment in our town centres as traders attempt to bounce back after months in lockdown, the council has introduced a new, state-of-the-art e-power cleaning machine at a cost of approximately £18,000.

Councillor Andrew Paraskos, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said: “Sadly, some people think it is completely acceptable to just discard litter on the street.

“Which is why we, and an army of volunteers, work tirelessly to ensure our town centres and villages look their best for locals and visitors alike.

“The addition of the street cleaning machine will make this task even easier and I know it will make the task of clearing litter that bit easier for our dedicated team.”

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The waste vacuum cleaner, which has a 10-hour battery life, is easy to use, compact, self-propelled and 100 per cent electric.

It can reportedly clean much quicker than manual litter picking and is especially effective at picking up small items of litter such as cigarette butts and disposable takeaway cups.

All the waste is sucked up through the flexible and durable nozzle and collected in bags at the back of the machine.

The high-efficiency machine also has an on-board pressure washer to remove any stubborn stains.

The new equipment will not just be deployed in Harrogate town centre, it is also set to be rotated in regions across the Harrogate district.

Harrogate Borough Council isn’t on its own in wanting to freshen up the town centre to boost the on-going economic recovery this autumn.

Harrogate’s BID (Business Improvement District) has been undertaking a series of ‘deep cleans’ on major shopping streets after a survey it conducted earlier in the year showed that the cleaning of our town’s streets was the number one priority for businesses and the various BID levy payers.

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