Cleansing
Adelaide City Council provides comprehensive cleaning and litter control services throughout the year to ensure the health and amenities of the community and surrounding environment.
Purpose of Public Realm – Cleansing Department
The prime purpose of the Cleansing unit of Public Realm is to maintain a clean environment for the residents, tourists, visitors and workers who visit the CBD, City environments and North Adelaide. Cleansing provides activities and services towards improved presentation through cleaning and waste management within the city, and develops, maintains and implements programmed cleaning operations that:
• Achieve the required performance standards in locations that need more frequent cleaning due to higher pedestrian traffic
• Are designed to manage seasonal and weather conditions
• Have sufficient flexibility to respond to unexpected occurrences
Service Elements
The main service elements within Cleansing include:
Cleaning of Public Realm Infrastructure
Cleaning of the City’s streets, footpaths, graffiti removal, removal of gum off pavements, the cleaning of public conveniences, street furniture (BBQ’s, bins and their surrounds, butt-out bins, tables, benches, cleaning of side entry pits and grates, emptying of street and park litter bins, cleaning after vehicle accidents/spillages, some major event cleanups and ensuring the City of Adelaide is always looking its best.
Major Event Cleanups
Including but not limited to:
• Providing a cleaning service for Rundle Mall during retail hours
• Cleaning for major Council-approved events, before and after the events
• Cleanup before, during and after scheduled special events (New Year's Eve, Christmas Pageant)
• Cleaning of the Torrens Lake, River Walk
Waste Management Contracts
The Cleansing Department also manages major contracts such as kerbside waste collection (garbage, recycling and green organics), residential hard refuse collection, residential hazardous and e-waste collection, and commercial cardboard collection.
Responsive Street Cleaning
Responsive street cleaning is required when the Cleansing Department has received a customer service request about foreign matter/item at a particular location. They include but are not limited to:
• Removal and discarding syringe needles
• Spills on streets
• Dead animals on streets
• Removal of graffiti from private and public properties
• Removal of illegally dumped/discarded rubbish in the city and Park Lands
General response service requests are managed using Adelaide City Council’s customer service request database Pathways.
How Often We Sweep Streets and Footpaths in the City
There are 862 streets in Adelaide CBD and North Adelaide. Approximately 150 streets (97km) are inspected and serviced on weekly, monthly and six-weekly cycles.
Street sweeping frequencies are based on achieving the required visual standards in locations that need more frequent cleaning due to higher occurrence of foreign matter (eg. in busy pedestrian areas; areas with high vehicular traffic; areas with deciduous trees which are swept during/after the autumn leaf fall).
Street sweeping frequencies can range from weekly for major/high-profile areas of the city and commercial shopping and cultural precincts (ie. Rundle Mall and North Terrace), where pedestrian and vehicle usage is high. Frequencies for residential areas range from weekly for highly populated areas to monthly in less populated areas.
Street sweeping frequencies may vary and are subject to change due to accessibility factors, such the presence of cars or heavy pedestrian traffic, the condition of the street and inclement weather conditions.
» City street sweeping map (PDF, 333Kb)
» North Adelaide street sweeping map (PDF, 332Kb)
Street and Footpath Sweeping Mechanisms
The types of street sweeping mechanisms commonly utilised in Adelaide City Council include:
• Mechanical broom sweepers involving a number of rotating brushes sweeping litter into a collection chamber
• Mechanical broom and vacuum systems involving the combination of rotating brushes and a vacuum to remove street litter
• Regenerative air sweepers using recirculated air to dislodge litter before it is swept by rotating brushes towards a vacuum for pick-up, and also using water sprays for dust suppression
• Where mechanical sweeping equipment has limited access to an area, brooms or mechanical leaf blowers are used to move the debris into the path of the street sweepers for collection
Leaf Fall
Adelaide City Council Cleansing crews, using the most up-to-date machinery, are working to ensure that your streets and footpaths are clear of leaf litter. Wet and rotting leaf litter not only poses a hazard to pedestrians, but also impacts upon our waterways. The Council’s leaf collection reduces the amount of leaf litter entering our waterways. Leaf fall in the City of Adelaide usually commences as early as late February and concludes at the end of May.
Catchpits
Catchpits are installed in the kerb of the streets to assist with the flow of stormwater into underground stormwater pipes. Blockages with litter, dirt, leaves or other debris can result in stormwater backing up and causing flooding on roads.
There are 3856 catchpits in Adelaide and North Adelaide. These catchpits are inspected and serviced daily on an 18-week cycle.
Street and Park Litter Bins
There are 535 street bins and 150 park bins within the council boundaries and they are serviced daily. Street and park bin tops are cleaned every day and the lids/openings are cleaned once a week.
Repairs are carried out as required or when reported by the members of the public.
How you can help?
• Do not litter
• Dispose of waste in the proper bins
• If you chew gum, please ensure that you discard the used gum into a bin
• Do not illegally dump rubbish on the streets
• Do not dump, oil, paint, etc. into stormwater drains, because they seriously affect our environment and waterways
• Don't put sharp objects or hypodermic needles in litter bins
• Recycle your glass bottles, aluminium and paper
• Pick up after your dog
• Obey all parking signs and restrictions. Street cleaning is difficult when cars are parked on the side of the road outside designated parking times
• Report overflowing street and parkland bins, any commercial waste or hard rubbish found in laneways, streets, median strips or parks to Adelaide City Council, Customer Centre on 8203 7203.
“Keep our Adelaide City Clean“
