ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A mammoth clean-up operation after London's Notting Hill Carnival needed to be slowed down when large numbers of gas canisters containing nitrous oxide were found among the debris.

Waste crews had to collect and dispose of the gas canisters separately for fear that they could explode.

A spokesperson for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said: "We have a skip that is completely filled with canisters plus a 3.5-tonne cage vehicle that is also full. And there are hundreds more stored at the depot.

"The fact that crews have had to separate the canisters from the general waste has significantly slowed down the operation."

Nitrous oxide - nicknamed "laughing gas" or "hippy crack" - has become a popular recreational drug amongst young people. It is usually bought in pressured canisters, then transferred to a container such as a balloon from which it is inhaled.

The small silver canisters in which it is usually sold have become a familiar sight in town centres and parks. But revellers are increasingly using the larger 600gm canisters which contain around 80 times the amount of the smaller metal cylinders. Experts describe this as a worrying new trend.

Council workers cleared 300 tonnes of rubbish - equivalent to the weight of 25 London buses - from London streets following the two-day carnival. Some 200 cleaners and 30 refuse trucks were involved in the huge late night clean-up operation, with 30 per cent of the waste expected to be recycled.