Veolia proud of swift clean-up following King Charles’ coronation

While the UK celebrated its first coronation in 70 years, Veolia’s teams worked tirelessly in partnership with Westminster City Council to ensure the streets of central London were left clean and tidy.

An estimated two million people gathered to see the spectacle on 7 May. Veolia deployed more than 100 operatives and 30 clean-up vehicles to restore the streets only a few hours after the event. Many waste management trucks were electric, working around the clock to get the location in perfect shape in time for the festivities.

Details of the Coronation clean-up include:

• Over 39 tonnes of additional recycling and refuse was collected from the event area. This is in addition to the approximately 650 tonnes collected on an average weekend.
• All of the collected material was taken to the Southwark recycling facility with general refuse taken for energy recovery.
• 50 tonnes of sand was laid on the streets to protect horses in the parade from slippery drain covers and to enable the carriage wheels to turn more easily. This was later swept up within a two-hour window.
• More than 100 operatives across eight teams worked from 3am to cover the event area and procession route.
• 30 vehicles were used, more than half which were electric or hybrid, including: cage vehicles, sweepers, flushers, bike removal vehicles and gritters
• Each member of staff on foot (60 people) walked about 25 miles, collectively a total of 300 000 steps taken.

‘It’s great to be able to help out at historic events like this and just be able to say I was part of it in a small way,’ says Veolia’s recycling operative Jason Small. ‘It’s a simple job and the early start at 2am was tough but the camaraderie and reception from the crowds made it all worthwhile.’

Helder Branco, Veolia Westminster general manager, adds: ‘I am immensely proud of my team’s unwavering passion and commitment to making sure we delivered an outstanding service during this momentous occasion. We have worked hard to make this event as sustainable as possible, separating out recycling from litter collected. The scale and speed at which we make the streets clean and safe to be re-opened is sometimes difficult to imagine, but that is our expertise.’