Blocked sinks

Wash basin slow to empty? Bath water won't run away easily? Chances are you have caused the blockage. Did you know:

• Most blockages are caused by food in the trap below the kitchen sink or a build-up of fat or grease.
• Washing machines cause a build-up of detergent in the waste pipes.
• Hair and shampoo are the most common cause of blockages to baths and basins.
• Over 95 per cent of blockages are caused by every-day use and are tenants' responsibility to clear.

Did you know it can take up to three hours to clear cooking oil out of a waste system?

We are happy to send one of our contractors to clear your blocked waste pipes at a charge of £30 (including materials and VAT) paid in advance. Even if it takes two or three hours to clear, the charge is the same.

There is no charge to OAPs or Registered Disabled residents for this service.

Community Draught Busters

Save money on your energy bills by calling Community Draught Busters

This free service includes:

• advice on saving energy and money
• installation of energy saving light bulbs, radiator panels and an energy monitor
• draught proofing doors and windows
• track your energy use online at www.imeasure.org.uk
• a series of curtain lining workshops in August

For further information contact Sibylle Mansour on 07892 792 944 or email ttbreskilling@gmail.com

House sparrows are protected

House sparrows are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take a house sparrow, or to take damage or destroy an active nest or its contents.

In Scotland, it is illegal to intentionally or recklessly obstruct or prevent a wild bird from using its nest, and this may also be viewed as illegal by the courts elsewhere in the UK if they construe this action as causing the death of the eggs or young. It is therefore important to check for active nests before any repairs to roofs and soffits are carried out during the breeding season which is April through August.

The provision to control house sparrows under a general licence was removed from the act in early 2005 in England, making the species fully protected in England (fully protected means they are on the red list of endangered species and as such carry the most severest of penalties if prosecuted).

However, general licences issued under the act are still in place in Wales and Scotland, and under the Wildlife Order in Northern Ireland. These allow an authorised person to control house sparrows to prevent serious damage to agriculture or preserve public health and safety, the relevance of this is that action is allowed to prevent damage in Wales and Scotland and not in England, so we can’t get around it as a debatable point, it is not debatable, it is set in stone.

An ‘authorised person’ is usually the landowner or occupier or their agent.

Nuisance or damage to property are not legitimate reasons for control, and as such an active roof nest cannot legally be removed, unless it can be demonstrated that removal was undertaken under the terms of one of the government licences and nests in air vents would not be.

If any residents have a problem with sparrows and would like further information please contact Paul Cooper, Lambeth Public Health & Pest Control Manager, on 020 7926 8861 or email paulcooper@lambeth.gov.uk

It should be noted that the fact that sparrows are now on the red list means that they are becoming rarer, which implies that it is less likely that nests will be found so hopefully less likely to be causing any problems.

Loughborough Estate Neighbourhood Watch

Meetings are held in the Loughborough Centre. Click on the link below for the Neighbourhood Watch flyer.

Rewarding residents for recycling

Lambeth Council in partnership with Veolia Environmental Services and Recyclebank launched an innovative scheme that rewards residents with points for recycling.

These Recyclebank points can then be converted into rewards from over 100 local businesses in the borough such as Fitness First, Waterloo Body Station and the London Film Museum as well as other shops, cafes and restaurants.

Some of the rewards on offer include:

• A free two-week pass including training session and health check at Fitness First
• Andre Pierre - £15 off any hair service (Monday to Wednesday)
• Streatham Garden Centre - £7 off when you spend £35 or more.

The Recyclebank reward scheme is free for residents to join and simple to use.

Residents register with Recyclebank either online or by calling 0844 409 9490*. Residents recycle their waste at home and let Recyclebank know they have recycled using their account on the Recyclebank website, by calling 0844 409 9490*, or by using a free iPhone app. Residents get ten points each time they tell Recyclebank they've recycled, and then a further top up of points based on the amount of recycling collected in the area. Residents can then use these points to get rewards from participating businesses in Lambeth.

To start with, the scheme is being offered to households with shared recycling bins in Lambeth and if successful will be rolled out across the borough.

It is vitally important that your residents are aware of the scheme so they can benefit from the incentives on offer and help the borough recycle more waste. Please share this information with your community development workers, neighbourhood housing managers and officers, TRAs, in newsletters, and with other appropriate bodies.

Steve Hulmes, Recyclebank's community outreach manager, will be contacting estate-based community groups over the next few weeks. If there are any community events or meetings that you would like Steve to attend please contact him via email, shulmes@recyclebank.com, or by phone on 07501 107 607. Please also contact Steve if you would like any further information or publicity materials.

For more information about Lambeth's Recyclebank scheme, log onto www.recyclebank.com/lambeth.

Joining Recyclebank means residents, communities and the environment all benefit. We hope you can assist in raising awareness of this exciting scheme and help to make Recyclebank a real success.

Councillor Lorna Campbell

Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability