The people of London have shown their support for the 2012 Olympic bid - by ditching their dirty habits and using a bin.
Marathon efforts to bring London's streets up to scratch have really paid off with a staggering 92 per cent of the capital now having less litter and grime than last year, a Capital Standards survey revealed today (Wednesday, 29th June).
Joe Tavernier, Chair of Capital Standards said: 'There's been a real sense of community spirit as Londoners, councils and other organisations have pulled together to show their backing for the bid by scrubbing up and putting their rubbish where it belongs - in the bin'.
'Being a contender to host the Olympic Games here in London in 2012 has made a big difference to how people feel about their city and they want to show it off with pride. If successful, the spotlight from the sporting world's arena will fall on London - so the Games' hopeful hosts must sparkle with cleanliness rather than fizzle out under a blanket of dirt.'
It is not only the Olympic athletes that have undergone a ruthless training schedule. In the past year Capital Standards has trained 250 Enforcement Officers in its 'Street Academy'. The Academy provides officers with expert training in the basic tools to utilise environmental legislation.
This ensures that there is someone there to hand out on the spot fines to those who continue to drop litter as well as investigating people who dump larger items of junk - like sofas and fridge freezers.
'With the introduction of the Clean Neighbourhoods Act it is now easier for councils to issue £50 fixed penalty notices, or prosecute offenders through the courts. Having an abundance of wardens on the streets will continue to reduce the amount of litter that is dropped see London reach its personal best when it comes to levels of litter,' added Joe.
Keep Britain Tidy's Director for London Justin Jupp is delighted with the improvements made in the Capital: 'London has made significant progress over the past year, I am confident we can go the distance and take gold in the cleanliness stakes.'
Determination and drive has meant that there has not been any decline in the state of London's streets over the past year. In fact, top scores were given for the improvements in fly-tipping and flyposting. There has also been a concerted drive to cut down on the amount of smoking related litter adorning our pavements. This has also proved successful.
Concluded Justin: 'Visitors from countries from Australia to Austria are looking for clean parks and pristine streets and public places - and they're seeing more and more of them when they come to London. Capital Standards is behind the 2012 Olympic bid all the way and will continue to drive home the message that to have tidy streets just taking part is not good enough - for gold, everyone must use a bin.'