Litter and Waste Monitoring

Welcome to the information page on litter and waste monitoring in Headstone Manor Park.

Committee member Adie Doyle, along with Friends, headed up a survey of litter found in the park, over a period of six months.

The final survey has now been completed and the findings are being sorted for a report.
Targeted areas were chosen for surveying as part of a project with the charity Thames 21.

With an increasing number of people using Headstone Manor Park, there is unfortunately an increasing amount of litter and along with the Harrow Green Team, and Friends of Headstone Manor Park, it has become apparent that litter is going to be an ongoing problem unless we try and find some solutions, encouraging people to be more respectful of the park and in particular, taking their waste home.

Litter and waste, as well as being unsightly is a health hazard to park users, injures wildlife and liquids could potentially enter the park stream, the Yeading Brook, which ultimately feeds into the River Thames.

Click on the Thames 21 link below to go to the article on the River Thames Cleanup.

Once a month, a particular area of the park was chosen and litter and rubbish collected in that area was picked up and sorted using a special survey form derived from those used on English coastal areas, in particular the English Channel.

If you are interested, the survey form and the overview sheet for the survey can be downloaded via the links below.

The survey will be used to help identify so-called ‘hotspots’ where litter and waste is a problem, and if there is any specific activity which might be responsible for this. We can also use this information as an indication of how much of the litter could be potentially recycled under Harrow recycling systems.

The survey report will also highlight where there are antisocial behaviour issues with respect to specific items such as nitrous oxide cylinders, hazardous materials, recreational drugs and bladed weapons, which are reported to the local crime prevention teams.

The survey is now complete and at the end of the project, a report will be presented to the Harrow Parks Forum, Harrow Heritage Trust and Harrow Council which can be used as an opportunity to perhaps work with other park users to help mitigate this problem.

Thames Litter - Our evidence - Thames21.

FOHMP Litter survey form.

FOHMP Litter survey overview form.

FOHMP survey report. To follow.