‘I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town, dirty old town.’
In these lyrics Ewan McColl found poetry and love amidst Salford’s desolate post-war industrial landscape. Originally written in 1949, the song was made famous by The Pogues in 1985 and is still played today at the Salford City FC ground as the team walk on. Big cities have many challenges in their quest to keep the streets and public areas clean. A survey run by the European Commission has identified some of the dirtiest cities, based on a poll of residents’ opinions. And the winner is (or should it be the loser?)…Palermo, Sicily.
Palermo – dirtiest city in Europe
Palermo is an ancient city, over 2700 years old, and is full of amazing heritage and beauty. It is a top tourist destination brimming with UNESCO sites and white sand beaches. But its citizens aren’t happy. Palermo came last out of 83 cities in the survey and only 6% of people were satisfied with the cleanliness of their city. Garbage strewn streets, sewage smells and graffiti spoil some parts of the city. Yet it has a life, culture and vibrancy that is distinctly Sicilian and cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Rome and Marseille – clean up your acts
Rome found itself in second to last place in the survey, with only 11% of its citizens happy with the cleanliness of their city. And there is certainly room for improvement in Marseille, on France’s stunning south coast, where over three quarters of the respondents thought their city wasn’t clean enough. But at the top of the list in Europe is Luxembourg, where 93% were happy with the cleanliness of their city. For clean air, Uppsala in Sweden and Faro in Portugal are top of the pops.
What about Britain?
According to new research which has ranked and rated the whole of the UK, the cleanest places in Britain are both in the north. Step forward pristine Pendle in Lancashire which takes the top spot, closely followed by marvellous Malton, a market town in North Yorkshire. Hyndburn in Lancashire came third so it looks like the south needs to level up with the north! Unfortunately, Bradford has come out as the most polluted city in the UK with serious air quality issues, closely followed by several areas in the London conurbation. Yet Westminster, London is in the top 5 cleanest, so what can be done to help?
Greater investment in cleaning and cleaning technology with equipment supplied by Lincoln Cleaning Technology, like the TSM Aria 240.
TSM Aria 240
This nifty machine from TSM Italy is an urban and industrial waste vacuum cleaner. It’s easy to use and maintain and is also available with ‘Follow Me Technology.”
With a 240 litre hopper capacity, the Aria 240 means business, leaving you free to get on with yours. Litter and debris is sucked through the 3600 mm carbon fibre hose, and its long reach makes it perfect for public outdoor spaces, towns and cities. This super urban cleaning machine has an automatic filtration system, which means less dust for operatives and the public.
This machine and many more are available from Lincoln Cleaning Technology, the UK’s leading supplier of industrial cleaning equipment and your partners in floor cleaning services.
Contact us
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You can contact our expert team individually or collectively at info@lincolncleaningtechnology.co.uk
Want to talk over the phone? It’s 01924 820876
