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Street sweeping keeping Knox safe

Street sweeping keeping Knox safe

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Monday, 13 April 2026

Every sweep counts. That's why our street sweeping teams are out and about as much as possible, all year round, helping to sweep over 700 km of our local streets.

Why do we sweep?

We know that clean and tidy streets are important but the main reason for street sweeping is to make them safer for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. Regular sweeping removes hazards such as leaves, dirt and litter and reduces the risk of flooding by stopping materials from blocking our local drains.

How often are streets swept?

Sweeping occurs on a seven-to-eight-week frequency. Changeable weather, especially during summer and autumn, or after strong winds or storms, typically creates more leaf litter and debris. During these times, our team temporarily adjusts to a four-to-five-week cycle to meet the increased demand.

Residential areas are swept during the day, while commercial areas such as shopping precincts are serviced at night to minimise disruption. Additional sweeps are arranged when there has been a significant incident or accident to address road safety concerns.

What happens to the materials collected?

Street sweeping helps our environment. Materials collected are taken to the Knox Transfer Station (insert link) where the contaminants are removed and materials are repurposed into mulch for use across our parks and gardens.

Managing leaves between scheduled sweeps

Inbetween sweeps, there are few things you can do to help reduce leaf litter near your home and in your street.

Use leaf litter as mulch for your garden beds
Box or bag leaves and place them out for collection using the bundled green waste service
Place leaf litter into your green food and garden bin. This can be done by putting them in directly or using compostable, lime green bags with seedling symbol code AS 4736.
Avoid blowing or sweeping leaf litter into roadways as this can cause road hazards and cause local stormwater drains to clog.

When to contact us

If you have a safety concern in your street that relates to street sweeping services, please contact our team and we will look into it.

Street sweeping services in Knox are delivered in line with theme 3 of our Council and Health and Wellbeing Plan 2025 – 2029, Caring for and enhancing our environment.

For more information contact our Engineering and Operations team on 9298 8000.