The London Borough of Bexley looks set to remain the topcouncil for recycling in Londonfor the seventh year running after recycling, composting andreusing more than 50% of its waste in 2010/11, according to data obtained exclusively by letsrecycle.com.
However, it looks like Bromley could potentially overtake Bexley to claim the top spot next year, following the introduction of food waste collections in September 2010.
The figures were obtained from the governments WasteDataFlow database and other sources ahead of the publication of official nationwide figures tomorrow (November 3).
They come following a survey published by letsrecycle.com in August of who were likely to be the best performers in 2010/11 across England as a whole (see letsrecycle.com story).
The data puts Bexley at the top the table in London with a total of 51% of its waste being recycled or composted. This is above its nearest rivals, Harrow (50%), the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (47%) and Bromley (45%). See the table below for the full results.
However, Bromleys recycling rate jumped from 40% to 47% between the second and third quarter of 2010/11 at exactly the same time the council introduced separate food waste collections. And, by the final quarter of 2010/11 its performance had reached almost 50% – which is higher than any other London borough during the period and suggests the council could be the top recycling performer in the capital in 2011/12. Collections in Bromley are carried out by Veolia.
Bexley
In Bexley dry recyclables are collected separately, not commingled. Residents are provided with a maroon box for plastics and cans, a green box for paper and a black box for glass. The dry recyclables are collected on a weekly basis whilst residual waste is collected fortnightly in a green wheeled bin. Bexley also collects food and garden waste in a brown wheeled bin. Collections in Bexley are carried out by Serco.
As well as being the top recycler Bexley also has the highest composting rate amongst London boroughs with a total of 23% of waste being sent for composting which is perhaps not surprising for an outer London borough.
The council has recently introduced a green points scheme in which residents can gain points for recycling which can be donated to a charity of their choice or used to gain discount in the local shops (see letsrecycle.com story).
Harrow
The borough of Harrow, meanwhile, operates a three bin system one for organic waste, one for commingled dry recyclables and one for general waste. The general waste and recyclables are collected fortnightly and the organic waste every week.
The three-bin system is cited as one of the key reasons for Harrows success in recycling. Councillor Phillip ODell, portfolio holder for environment and community safety for Harrow, said: Harrows success is down to the enthusiasm our residents have for recycling and the simple three-bin system we put in place to make it quick and easy to separate waste in the home.
Both Bexley and Harrow also provided recycling services to some residents living in flats and both are working to expand these schemes. Harrow has recently been granted 400,000 by the London Waste and Recycling Board to improve their services to residents that are currently underserved.
By March 2012 we will have extended recycling collections to all 8,000 flats in the borough. This autumn we are also running a Love Food, Hate Waste campaign to encourage residents to reduce their food waste, added councillor ODell.
The boroughs of Newham and Lewisham fall at the bottom of the table with recycling rates under 20% (14.98% and 18.55% respectively). Newhams recycling rate dropped by almost four percentage points from 18.64% in 2009/10.
Table showing the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting by London boroughs in 2010/11
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