The 26.2 mile race route passed through six London boroughs. Veolia managed the swift clear up operation for three of them, making up the largest portion of the event’s clean up task.
Veolia cleared all streets north of the River Thames within six hours, including the City of London, Westminster and Tower Hamlets, where they deliver street cleansing, recycling and waste collections on behalf of the three Local Authorities.
Pascal Hauret, Regional Director for Veolia London, said: “The London Marathon is a fantastic, yet challenging event for our teams. Tight deadlines for road openings make it essential for our crews to clear the streets quickly, whilst maintaining the safety of nearby crowds.
“This year we’re delivering the largest portion of the clear up task, covering streets in the City of London, Westminster and Tower Hamlets. Our widespread presence will allow for greater efficiency between areas and also ensures more of the event’s plastic bottles are collected for recycling.
“This is important to us as the UK’s current figures show that over 40% of plastic bottles don’t make it to recycling centres. We’re pleased to be part of making the Marathon as sustainable as possible.”
Across the three locations, Veolia deployed over 40 vehicles and 120 staff and, based on the results from previous years, expects to have cleared over 350,000 plastic bottles from the race course.
All of the plastic bottles collected for recycling support the delivery of a sustainable solution for the Marathon and a ‘clear win’ for London’s resources.