Chewing gum
The cost of cleaning gum from the pavements of Cambridge has risen to £12,000 per year. This is money we would rather spend keeping the streets clean of other litter and tending to local parks and other public spaces.
So please help us deal with this sticky problem - bin your gum when you're done.
Grass areas
We maintain most grass areas around the city including grass verges, parks and areas of grass on housing estates. We aim to cut most grass areas fortnightly during the growing season.
We use large machinery to cut the bulk of the grass and 'back up' using smaller mowers and strimmers. That is why you will sometimes see small areas of grass left uncut after the bigger machines have finished cutting.
Some areas of long grass are maintained to promote the growth of wild flora and fauna, eg at Barnwell Road.
Streets
We sweep city centre streets and shop fronts daily. We also aim to maintain all residential streets to an acceptable standard of cleaning by sweeping.
Our street sweeping programme is supported by a deep cleaning crew who carry out intensive cleans on residential streets as needed. If your street is in need of a clean, please let us know.
If you see a spillage on the streets, eg oil, petrol or paint, please contact us.
Needles and drug related litter
It is very important that you contact us immediately if you find drug related litter. We aim to collect and safely dispose of this potentially hazardous material within two hours of it being reported.
Graffiti
We aim to remove all graffiti within five days of receiving a report. In the case of offensive graffiti we aim to achieve removal within 24 hours. To report graffiti that you have seen please contact our customer services team, giving as much information about the graffiti as possible.
Please visit our graffiti page for details of our graffiti removal services.
Flyposting
If you see any flyposting around the city please contact our customer services team and we will arrange for it to be removed.
Street furniture
We maintain the majority of street furniture such as benches, litter bins and dog bins. If you have a problem related to any street furniture please contact our customer services team.
Some bus shelters are managed by Adshell and carry the Adshell logo. Others are maintained by us - to report a problem please quote the number on the bus shelter as well as its location.
Shop fronts
We clean city centre shops fronts every day. Local shop fronts are also routinely cleaned Monday to Friday with a visit at the weekend to ensure that the area is clean and tidy.
Parks and public gardens
We empty bins and clear litter on a routine basis. Dog bins are also routinely emptied. Formal children's play areas are visually checked and cleaned Monday to Friday.
Drummer Street bus station
The bus station is cleaned twice a day, every day and has a thorough wash down and clean at least three times a year.
Car parks
We litter pick and clean our multi-storey car parks on a daily basis and also use heavy duty ride-on industrial cleaning machines to maintain clean floors in our newly refurbished car parks. This work is undertaken throughout normal working hours to ensure that oil and other spills can be removed quickly. In the winter period this work helps to remove the salt staining helping us maintain a high standard of facilities.
Animals
If you find a stray dog, please contact the dog warden on 01223 457898. If you find a stray cat, please contact the Cambridge branch of Blue Cross on 01223 350153.
If you find a dead animal in the street or on any other public land, please contact us and we will remove the animal as quickly as we can. We will also scan any dead cat or dog to identify if the animal has a microchip. Cats Protection have kindly loaned a chip reader for this purpose.