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Fast food chains join clean sweep
7:00am Saturday 16th August 2008
Comments (30)Three major fast food outlets have agreed to step up litter patrols to combat the "unacceptable" piles of rubbish blighting Oxford's busiest street.
McDonald's, KFC and Burger King have agreed to join forces with Oxford City Council to provide half-hourly litter picks along Cornmarket Street.
Two weeks ago the Oxford Mail printed pictures showing overflowing bins as well as packaging and drink cartons from McDonald's dumped all over the pavement and a bench outside the popular fast food restaurant.
From Monday, the three companies have agreed to patrol enlarged zones near their stores, co-ordinated with the council's own hourly litter picks - meaning the entire street will be cleaned every 30 minutes.
The council's street scene manager Dave Huddle said: "I'm delighted we have got this agreement. Cornmarket is the main thoroughfare in Oxford so, along with Radcliffe Square, it's the jewel in the crown of where we need to protect.
"McDonald's, KFC and Burger King are all on board, but now we want the other fast food outlets to buy into this, to share the burden.
"I don't think any of these outlets would want to be associated with the litter we saw.
"It's great to have the big corporate names on board and the street should really see the benefit of this."
Mr Huddle said he was also hoping to put recycling bins on the street to ease the burden on the council's eight Cornmarket litter bins and the two provided by McDonald's.
Mr Huddle is also talking to KFC and Burger King about providing bins.
Ian Howard, McDonald's business manager for the Cornmarket Street restaurant, said: "Our litter picking is going to be stepped up.
"The streets did look a mess. We all work there, so we have all got to take responsibility to keep it as tidy as possible, because it benefits everybody.
"If everyone looks after their patch, Cornmarket will be a lot tidier."
Assistant manager Amy Douglas said: "McDonald's have always provided their own bins and I think more fast-food retailers should."
John Tanner, the council's executive member for a cleaner city, said: "The litter outside was unacceptable and quite a mess. Cornmarket is starting to look a lot tidier and I'm very pleased."
Liz Storrar, chairman of Oxclean, part of Oxford Civic Society, said: "This is terrific news. I would like to congratulate the council and the fast food retailers for this initiative.
"In my generation, it was expected that shopkeepers swept their own pavement regularly.
"Now we need more retailers to follow this lead and make Cornmarket cleaner."
Your Say YourOxford Mail
SJA, Florida says...
4:21am Sat 16 Aug 08
david cameron-young, says...
7:05am Sat 16 Aug 08
gemma johnson, Oxford says...
11:16am Sat 16 Aug 08
Andrew, Oxford says...
1:35pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Let's privatise it. Give every current resident a share and allow it to be run (for profit) by a consortium of say Disney & Tussauds.
There would be no nonsense with drunks and junkies on the street, traffic would be coordinated to quickly bring customers in and out at peak times. The streets would be spotlessly clean.
Social Responsibility? Well let's put the think tank results into reverse. If an average home in Ox costs £390k but in Liverpool costs £125k - Unless the residents are key-workers it would be possible to accommodate three times as many people who require social housing in the north than it is here.
Oxford could be beautiful again.
Tom, Gemma's bed says...
4:05pm Sat 16 Aug 08
gemma johnson wrote:Gemma you sound hot.
All the chavs that hang around outside these places should put their own rubbish in the bin...or are they too stupid to even know what a bin is to start with? LOL
Now.....
Yes they are stupid,they are sons and daughters of layabouts and drink/drug addicts,so they did not stand a chance.
Mr Ison, Ministry of Culture and Deportation says...
4:20pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Tom, says...
4:24pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Mr Ison wrote:Which passport would you like me to produce?
Tom,your papers are not in order!
Mr Ison, England says...
4:35pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Tom, says...
4:40pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Mr Ison, England says...
5:29pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Tom, says...
5:58pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Gengis, China says...
6:05pm Sat 16 Aug 08
McDonald's original planning permission was granted on the grounds they would have a "permanent" litter picker on the prowl during opening hours. They are only just beginning to fulfill their obligations.
But in China, where I live, we just say NO!!!
Tom, says...
6:06pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Bob, says...
6:07pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Gengis wrote:What good are clean streets when you do not have human rights?.
If these outlets didn't produce so much litter, there would be less litter to pick up. Everything multi rapped and then bagged. McDonald's original planning permission was granted on the grounds they would have a "permanent" litter picker on the prowl during opening hours. They are only just beginning to fulfill their obligations. But in China, where I live, we just say NO!!!
Mr Ison, England says...
6:25pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Bob, says...
6:36pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Mr Ison, England says...
6:45pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Tom, says...
6:56pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Mr Ison wrote:Made in China......
Who cares?
The company i work for has recently moved production to China and as i predicted the product has gone to ****. Quality control is a disgrace,especially cleanliness.
China knows that the world wants them for their cheap labour and they can guarantee this because their people cannot do anything about it through fear.
Mr Ison, England says...
6:57pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Womens crocheting and mixed fishing with dynamite are out of the way.
No Aborigine Javelinist i suspect.
Some of the third worlders cannot afford to send teams,not many could afford a spectators seat either by the look of things.
Tom, says...
6:59pm Sat 16 Aug 08
That surely sums up a lot about these people.......
Mr Ison, England says...
7:08pm Sat 16 Aug 08
A new factory apparently.
It may not be true as China does not accept wooden pallets of incoming goods.
Mr Ison, England says...
7:17pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Tom, says...
7:29pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Mr Ison wrote:There may be some truth in it as......
A colleague was talking about a conversation he had with an Engineer sent to China to install machinery,he says that after opening the crates the fellow went to the Hotel and upon returning to site the following morning all the wooden crates were gone and all new wooden furniture had taken there place. A new factory apparently. It may not be true as China does not accept wooden pallets of incoming goods.
"China will only accept wooden pallets stamped DB-HT or DB-MB with the accompaniment of a phytosanitary certificate."
Mr Ison, England says...
7:58pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Tom, says...
8:04pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Mr Ison wrote:I now know it is time to die.....
I don't know if the plastic pallets are made in China,i will look.
I am talking about pallets on a saturday night.....
Alan Page, Guilford says...
8:25pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Tom wrote:It is felt, that the news of my demise, may have been a falsehood!
It is now offficial,Alan Page is dead.
Get your glowsticks ready.
Dan Oxford beware!
As well as all others who mock me!
The truth will prevail.
Joe, Marston Road says...
8:29pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Mr Ison wrote:It is strange.
Track and field this weekend they say. Womens crocheting and mixed fishing with dynamite are out of the way. No Aborigine Javelinist i suspect. Some of the third worlders cannot afford to send teams,not many could afford a spectators seat either by the look of things.
All venues are fully sold out?
The chinese dream? Bums on seats?
Mr Ison, England says...
10:11pm Sat 16 Aug 08
Censor, China says...
6:40am Mon 18 Aug 08
Mr Ison wrote:We could produce computer generated crowds if required;
It's gotta be fewer people.
But with 1.6 billion people in China, we do not need too!
We are the original, Rent-a-Crowd, franchise holders!
McDonald's staff Lucy Mase-Robinson, Ben Shockley and Jessica Nakasujja sweep up
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Pasta, Oxford says...
3:18am Sat 16 Aug 08