Tandridge District Council is asking all residents to help keep leaves out of roads and drains as much as possible by not raking and blowing them into the roads, but bagging, composting or taking to the local community recycling centre instead…

We are right in the middle of Autumn and with the heavy rain and winds in recent weeks, there is a lot of debris and loads of leaves all over gardens, driveways, paths and roads. Tandridge street cleaning crews clear away hundreds of tonnes of leaves from pavements and roads around this time of year and this year is particularly bad.

Tandridge Council says that while many of these leaves fall naturally in these areas, the matter can be made worse by residents using leaf blowers to blow leaves out of their gardens and into the roads.

“Please don’t blow or rake the leaves from your property or driveway into the street or gutter as they can block storm water drains. When leaves go into storm drains, they clog the pipes and this may cause street flooding,” says TDC. “Having to remove these extra leaves also slows down our street cleaners and increases costs.”

Please help the council by scooping up the leaves that fall on your property and not blowing or sweeping them onto the pavement or road. Leaves can either be put in your garden waste bin, composted or bagged and taken to the community recycling centre in Warlingham or Caterham.

For more information on our Garden Waste Club, visit  www.tandridge.gov.uk/gardenwaste.