An army of refuse workers have cleared an estimated 300 tonnes of rubbish from the streets of Notting Hill after its carnival.
Kensington and Chelsea council said the huge haul of discarded food containers, drinks cans and laughing gas nitrous oxide canisters weighed the same as 25 double decker London buses.
Some 200 cleaners and 30 bin lorries helped with the overnight clean up on Monday night and Tuesday morning following the street party over the bank holiday weekend.
About 30 per cent of the rubbish is expected to be recycled, including the waste collected from more than 1,000 toilet facilities set up especially for the event.
Kensington councillor Emma Will said: “I’m so pleased to see how well Carnival has gone and everyone has worked so hard to ensure it ran smoothly.
“The biggest challenge is the clean-up and whilst Carnival is a wonderful reflection of our, diverse, multi-cultural community, we want to return the streets back to normal as soon as possible, with minimal disruptions.
“I want to thank our waste collection teams at SUEZ and everyone who works throughout the night to make that happen.
“With 30 per cent of waste recycled and the chemical, water-free toilets that were available, we’ll continue to move towards a greener Carnival however we can.”
Around 2 million people attended the biggest street party in Europe over the Bank Holiday weekend.
It was the first time the carnival had been held since 2019 following the Covid pandemic.
Co-founder of the club Jules Stephenson said: “It (the atmosphere) is electric – everyone is so excited about carnival being back.”
However, the final day of the festival was marred by the death of Takayo Nembhard, 21.
Police and paramedics gave him emergency treatment before he was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
