Keep Coventry tidy campaign targets students - The Coventry Observer

Keep Coventry tidy campaign targets students

Coventry Editorial 11th Jan, 2016 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A RAFT of measures is being developed to help students keep Coventry tidy.

It follows a campaign in inner city St Michael’s ward to clamp down on waste and dumping in streets.

Coventry councillor Jim O’Boyle, who helped co-ordinate the campaign in 2014, has praised the latest work.

Following his intervention, a taskforce was set up between Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwick universities and the British Heart Foundation.




He said: “I enquired recently as to how things were going. I received the following information which I thought was positive and showed good progress which I welcome.”

• Coventry University has submitted a funding bid to fund between 10 to 20 community wardens to work on anti-social behaviour and waste and recycling issues in the community. The university will begin recruitment for these positions this month.


• Coventry University has been developing a mobile phone application which will give students in Coventry information on their waste collection service. Information and alerts include highlighting bin days, what bins need to be put out, and dealing with bulk items.

• The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has been working with Coventry and Warwick universities to encourage donations of household goods, rather than ending up as waste. Students have been given donation bags by student volunteers, focused towards the end of term.

Over the last year 842 bags of goods have been donated, preventing 21 tonnes of waste going into the waste stream, and generating £38,000 for the BHF. It is working with both universities and the council to repeat the scheme to target students in this academic year.

• The council’s environment and housing enforcement team has created an e-leaflet regarding waste presentation. www.coventry.gov.uk/tenantbins . Officers have visited and emailed local letting agents so the leaflets can be included in tenant information packs.

• Residents have a problem with abandoned vehicles in student areas, says Coun O’Boyle, who claimed it was a particular problem when overseas students left their cars and returned home. The university are looking to work with British Heart Foundation to create a vehicle donation scheme so that vehicles can be reused instead.

Cllr O’Boyle also addressed Coventry Students Union on November 10 and said: “I am pleased this is being taken very seriously especially as student numbers continue to grow and I will continue to monitor the issue.”

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