Taking Pride in their work
STREET CLEANER SAYS THE CLEAR-UP AFTER LONDON PARADE IS ‘FUN’
LONDON’S Pride parade brought hundreds of thousands of sequinned, glittered revellers partying down the capital’s streets in celebration of LGBT+ culture.
The remnants of the street partying will be used to power Britain.
The rainbow flags, leftover costumes and disposable cups cleared away by Westminster City Council’s contracted litter removal company will be processed into energy.
Contractor Veolia used 20 vehicles and 100 staff to collect more than 55 tonnes of rubbish, which will be sent to its SELCHP Energy Recovery Facility.
Before the Pride parade clean-up. Contractor Veolia found everything from rainbow flags to costumes, and is able to convert the litter into renewable energy.
The amount of recovered energy produced by the facility will generate enough power for over 170,000 televisions to watch the full parade, the council said.
The council’s cabinet member for the environment and city management Cllr Tim Mitchell said: “It is Westminster’s honour to host so many great events and celebrations, such as London Pride.
“We also have the honour of making sure the streets are clean after these big events. With Veolia’s help we’re going to ensure the streets are as clean as they were before Pride and ready to return to business as usual.”
Veolia street cleaning foreman Pedro Ferreira said the leftovers from the Pride parade were always colourful.
“Over the years we’ve found everything you can think of after the Pride Parade, from unicorn costumes, to wedding veils, glitter wands and balloons in all shapes and sizes.
“It’s all evidence that the Pride paraders know how to have a good time. We love doing the clear up, it’s one of the most fun events of the year.”