Graffiti represents an environmental eyesore, degrading streets, houses, subways, buses and trains, it damages communities and is a constant blight on neighbourhoods and City Centres.
Graffiti appears everywhere: on public buildings, in parks, on shop shutters, street furniture, bridges, railway track sides, cable boxes, bus stops, play areas, subways, monuments and other open surfaces.
The majority of graffiti is ugly and sometimes offensive; it engenders an atmosphere of neglect and criminality. Its presence often coincides with other environmental problems such as abandoned cars, litter and fly posting.
There are different types of graffiti:
- Tagging - this is the most common type of graffiti. The tag is a type of signature. It is a way of saying “I am here” and is used in some cases to mark out territory.
- General (racist/offensive/obscene) - in some cases graffiti can be highly offensive and inflammatory, being used as a form of attack against an individual or group of people.
Graffiti Removal
The Graffiti Removal Unit of Bradford (GRUB) are specialists in removing all forms of graffiti, from any surface, using safe and environmentally friendly materials and techniques, and without damaging the original surface, or surface decoration.
GRUB does not use any acids, or spirit based solvents. All of the cleaning agents used are bio-degradable. We aim to use chemicals that have a minimal detrimental effect on the environment. For high risk areas there is a range of anti graffiti and/or anti poster treatments and coatings available. Some are invisible and do not change the appearance of the original surface, whilst others can provide a full decorative finish, in any colour you may want. Our graffiti removal staff are highly trained in the use of these chemicals and equipment, and safety is our primary concern.
Graffiti Removal – method of removal
The method of graffiti removal depends on the surface (brick, stone, pebbledash, rendered surfaces, wood etc) and type of substance used (crayon, spray paint, felt tip pen etc), in the majority of cases. A specific solvent based chemical is applied directly onto the graffiti, the chemical is then agitated into the substance and finally the whole surface area is jet washed using either hot or cold water.
On very stubborn graffiti we sometimes use a system called wet blast. In principle it is the same as the traditional sand blasting method apart from we use a sand-substitute through the jet wash machine.
Many of our mobile cleaners / transits are equipped with special wipes that can remove minor deposits of graffiti when they find them
Fly-posting
Fly posting is where people put up posters or stickers on public or private property without the consent of the owner. Often these advertise music events or festivals, but sometimes they can be politically motivated, advertising rallies for example.
Fly-posting is removed using a water-jetting machine and if required a detergent.
Street Scene will:
- Remove racist / offensive / obscene / politically motivated fly-posting free of charge within 1 working day of it being reported.
- Remove non-offensive fly-posting from Council owned property within 5 working days from it being reported.
Where the fly-posting is reported and it is neither offensive nor on council owned property, then Street Scene will only clear the fly-posting with the permission of the property owner, as work on private property will be charged for.
Please use the link below to request graffiti/fly-posting removal.
