Council’s autumn leaves sweep up will generate enough electricity to boil more than 5 million kettles

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This autumn, Westminster Council, in partnership with Veolia, has extended its street cleaning service once again to accommodate the substantial leaf fall from the city's 19,000 trees.   

The peak period of leaf fall typically spans from October 1 to November 30, influenced by strong winds, rainfall, and cooler temperatures.  

The council anticipates gathering approximately 1,000 tonnes of leaves, equivalent to around 200,000 bags, this autumn. This quantity is comparable to the weight of six London underground trains, or 80 double decker buses.

Due to the presence of heavy metals resulting from traffic pollution, leaves collected in the city cannot be used for composting. But, to optimise the leaves as a resource, they are used to contribute to generating energy for heating homes.

Approximately 1,000 tonnes of leaves can generate 530,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to power an estimated five million hours of television or boil 5.3 million kettles.

During this period, the local authority and Veolia are employing 11 additional agency staff and utilizing two extra collection vehicles to bolster the street cleansing endeavour.  

Manual street cleansing teams are work closely with the council’s new electric gully trucks to prevent leaves from obstructing drains and potentially causing floods.  

Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality said:

Falling autumn leaves make for a great Instagram picture and look spectacular in our parks, but they can make pavements slippery and pose a flood risk by blocking drains. Our street cleansing teams are working hard to prioritise leaf sweeping to keep our streets free from hazards for residents and visitors.” 

Lee Mewett, Senior Contract Manager for Veolia Westminster, added:

As Westminster City Council's environmental services partner, we're proud to play a crucial role in this autumn's leaf clean-up initiative.

Our commitment to ecological transformation drives us to find innovative solutions and I look forward to the deployment of new electric gully trucks this year as part of our ambition to transition all Westminster depots to be fully electric. This sustainable energy solution will reduce noise and increase the efficiency with which we address the challenges posed by the annual leaf fall.”