What a load of rubbish...

We all know that the council take away our general household waste (see here for details on your collection day), but what about everything else?

Southwark has a number of different schemes to help you get rid of your rubbish

• Recycling: everyone can do their bit, whether it's through collections from your own front door or taking your bottles, clothes, paper and plastic to one of the local recycling centres. A full guide as to what you can or can't recycle is available here
• Garden waste: once you've spruced up your garden it can be a real pain to get rid of all your unwanted plants etc. Southwark collect garden waste once every two weeks. Find out how you can do it here and when your local collection day is here
• Large household items: there's no need to fly-tip! Not only does it make the area look ugly, it's completely unnecessary. Southwark will collect your large household items absolutely free of charge on a day that is convenient to you. All you have to do is set up an appointment - find out more here
• Almost everything else: if you have a car or access to a vehicle, you might consider taking your waste to the Household Waste Reuse and Recycling Centre, currently situated off Manor Place. They take pretty much everything here - all of the stuff listed above, in addition to batteries, aerosols, tyres and even oil

So there's no excuse really! If you see litter, dumped rubbish, dog mess or an area that you think needs cleaning you can contact the council using this online form.

Check before you travel!

As some of you may have noticed, the lifts at Kennington are about to be refurbished - great news in the long run, but potentially disruptive in the short term!

From the 20th January through to December 2009, TfL will operate a reduced lift service - closing one lift at a time in order to carry out the work that is required.

Those of you who had the misfortune of being caught up in the temporary closures of the station on a number of mornings just before Christmas will know that any reduction in service can result in fairly major problems!

If there should be a problem at Kennington, remember that the P5 bus route runs right through our area with local stops on Lorrimore Rd, Lorrimore Sq/Chapter Rd, Penrose St and Walworth Rd, leading north to the Elephant and Castle (where you can connect with the Bakerloo Line and Mainline Rail Services) and south to Brixton, Stockwell and beyond. Likewise, the 155, 133, 333 and 415 (amongst others - see map for full details) run up and down Kennington Park Road in both directions - providing other alternatives.

So - the best advice is, check before you travel. Tube status updates are available on the homepage of the blog (at the bottom) or direct from Transport for London.