Streets in Bolton are set to be cleaner after the council invested in new equipment to tackle litter, leaves and fly-tipping.
New road sweepers have been purchased, bigger bins installed at key spots and handy equipment stores provided for volunteer litter pickers.
A fleet of road sweepers in various sizes are used by the council to remove leaves and litter, and there have been several recent additions.
One large sweeper has been added, making three in total, and these are vital for keeping roads and drains clear of leaves and twigs in autumn, which reduces the risk of flooding as well as keeping streets looking tidy.
Six smaller mechanical sweepers are used on pavements, with teams focusing on different areas of Bolton on a rotating schedule.
A new electrically powered pavement sweeper has also been brought in that can get into smaller spaces like cycle lanes, helping to keep them clean and safe to use.
The sweepers are among the equipment used by Environmental Services teams who spent the summer doing things like cutting grass and spraying weeds, and who have now switched to autumn jobs like gathering leaves.
They target routes such as Chorley New Road and Gilnow Road that have lots of trees and remove the leaves and detritus they produce.
Bigger roads are also benefiting from new, larger litter bins as part of a major programme of improvements on Bolton’s main transport routes.
Almost 50 bins have been replaced with ones that have more than twice the capacity, meaning they are less likely to get full and cause litter to overflow onto the street.
Eight new equipment stores have also been installed, bringing the total across the town to 18.
The brightly painted stores – known as Volunteer Vaults – have proved popular with volunteer litter picking groups as they provide strong and secure storage for equipment at convenient locations.
It means tools are always at hand without the need to transport dirty equipment.
Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change and Environment, Cllr Robert Morrisey, said:
“Keeping streets clean is always a priority for the council as we know how much it means to residents, especially at this time of year when the leaves are falling.
“Our teams work hard throughout the year and I also want to say a special thank you to all the fantastic litter-picking volunteers across the town who do such a fantastic job.
“I’m pleased we are able to support them with this new investment.”