Campaign for a Clean East Bristol
Our manifesto
Needles. Rats. Dumped mattresses. Overflowing bins. Bags split across the pavement. In East Bristol this is every day, and it shouldn't be.
We know because we live here and walk these streets. Thousands of residents have reported it on FixMyStreet. Our data tool tracks every one of those reports, and it shows the same thing we see.
Enough is enough. Residents can't fix this alone. We're calling on Bristol City Council, Bristol Waste, businesses and communities to act together.
What we believe
Rubbish on your doorstep breeds frustration, and frustration looks for someone to blame. Those who want to divide communities are quick to exploit it. But the cause is conditions, not communities, and our elected leaders have a special responsibility to act.
- It's not inevitable. It follows from decisions about services and money, and different decisions can change it.
- It's a symptom of deprivation first and foremost. Across Bristol, deprivation is the strongest predictor of how much waste a street sees.
- It's a health and safety issue. Needles, nitrous canisters, broken glass and rats don't belong on the streets our children walk.
- It wears down our pride. Living among rubbish tells people nobody cares about their street.
- The evidence is clear. What we see, what residents report and the council's own survey all tell the same story.
- There's no single fix. Education, services, policy, enforcement and accountability have to work together.
- Accountability, not blame.
What we want
Education and community
Help residents understand recycling and waste disposal.
The system is complicated, and it isn't explained in the languages people here speak.
Reach people through the groups they already trust.
Faith groups, community centres and schools can get the message to every household.
Make landlords part of the solution.
Private landlords, letting agents, housing associations and the council itself, as landlord of many local flats, should tell every new tenant how bins and collections work on the day they move in.
Services and policy
Invest to match the problem.
We have the worst waste in Bristol. Our street cleaning and waste services should be funded for that, not for the city average.
Free bulky waste collection for those who can't get to the tip.
Many households here don't have a car, and paying to have a sofa collected isn't an option for everyone. So it ends up on the pavement.
Stop turning people away from the tip.
Scrap the booking system, and let residents whose only vehicle is a van or taxi bring their household waste. The current rules put off exactly the people trying to do the right thing.
No bin, no chance.
If a flat has nowhere to store rubbish, it ends up on the pavement. Landlords must provide proper bins, and flats without bin stores need communal bins and gull-proof bags.
Make takeaways and food shops pay for the collections they need.
A busy kitchen fills its bins fast. Some businesses pay for too few collections, and the overflow lands on our streets. The council should require collections that match the waste a business actually produces.
Act before a street reaches breaking point.
Set a clear threshold, and when a street hits it, extra resources go in automatically.
Enforcement
One standard for business waste, citywide.
What wouldn't be tolerated in Clifton shouldn't be tolerated on Stapleton Road.
Fines in proportion to the problem.
From 2023 to 2025, littering fines raised £224,000 in the city centre and £43,000 in neighbouring Ashley. In Lawrence Hill, home to the worst waste in Bristol, they raised £9,500. In Easton, under £2,000.
Use the cameras we already have.
Lawrence Hill has more council CCTV than any ward in Bristol. Use it, and the powers that come with it, to catch fly-tippers and litterers.
Accountability
Make every report count.
We'll encourage residents to report waste on FixMyStreet, and work with the council to make reporting easier and responses better.
Track progress in public.
We'll share our data tool with the council. In return, the council should publish its full records on the reports it receives and what it does about them.
We will keep campaigning, speaking up and pushing for change until our streets are clean.
Every Bristolian deserves a clean and healthy place to live.