As well as the usual level of cleansing to remove litter, leaves and debris and clear back the edges of weeds, council contractors Biffa worked to jet wash the tarmac in Newington, Ospringe, East Street and St Pauls Street in Sittingbourne, and Teynham to reduce the dangerous particulate matter deposited in the road from recirculating into the air.
Cllr Tim Valentine, cabinet member for the environment at the council, said:
“Deep cleaning the roads in our air quality management areas is important for eliminating the damaging particulate matter that is deposited into the road by traffic.
The dangerous matter can be deposited from vehicle brake pads, tyre wear, tail pipe exhaust emissions and various materials - mud, dust and other particles - attached to vehicle tyres.
When the deposits build up along the road, they can recirculate into the air every time a vehicle moves over them, which intensifies the pollution in an area already under a heavy burden.
We spend more than £1m each year on street cleansing services, street patrols to pick up litter and emptying more than 800 litter bins and 350 dog bins across the borough, and have now allocated additional funds to trial this extra service to reduce these dangerous particulates that can damage people’s health.”
For more information about air quality visit: www.swale.gov.uk/air-quality
Swale Borough Council
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