The Assembly's Waste Recycling Investigative Committee has produced a report which looks at what is stopping London boroughs from meeting the government's recycling targets. “Rewarding Recycling – An Assembly investigation into barriers to greater recycling in London”, highlights the achievements of what it calls “the best municipalities in Europe” where 60% of household waste is diverted by kerbside collections and centralised composting schemes and said that London must do the same.
The report outlines what the assembly thinks the government should do to address what it is calling the rubbish crisis as in 1998/99, London councils collected 4.1 million tonnes of municipal waste of which 3.3 million tonnes came from households and only 7% was recycled. The 1998/99 figures show that 75% of London’s waste was landfilled and 18% was incinerated.
The assembly concluded that to meet targets, fiscal policy needs to be aligned with the waste hierarchy which would see incineration and landfill attract proportionately more tax. The assembly also said that landfill tax credits should be more closely related to recycling which should result in a more equitable payback to the boroughs. And the report called for Packaging Waste Recovery Notes to be reviewed to create “real producer responsibility” and to incorporate genuine incentives for research and development.
Samantha Heath, chair of the Waste Recycling Investigative Committee, said: “The option of mass burn or mass bury is no longer with us. We have heard from many Londoners who want to recycle more. We all produce rubbish, about a tonne for every household each year, and people want to do exciting things with their rubbish. London can achieve much higher levels of recycling and be a beacon for the rest of the country.”
The Committee is calling on the GLA to set up a joint Waste Reduction Commission which would see Ken Livingstone working in partnership with the London boroughs and waste organisations to tackle the problem. The Assembly said that the markets for recyclables need urgent investments and that this also needs to be taken up by the Mayor. “The Mayor can act as a role model, working with the functional bodies, by setting targets for the purchasing of recyclates and for the minimisation of waste, and ensuring these targets are met.”
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