First grants awarded for flats recycling in London

The London Waste and Recycling Board has today (November 25) awarded 12 London councils a share of £1.35 million to improve flats recycling.

Recipients in the first round of funding are: Havering (in partnership with Barking & Dagenham, Newham and Redbridge), Waltham Forest, Croydon, Hillingdon, Lambeth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Camden, Westminster and Hackney. The 12 successful bidders represent around 250,000 properties.

The funding is intended to be used to: improve signage; provide reusable bags to help residents carry material to communal points; install better and more accessible bins; mini-recycling banks on floors; more frequent collections; and, provide recycling bins in kitchens.

The London Waste and Recycling Board, known as LWaRB, claims that around £100,000 could be saved in the first round of funding due to joint procurement of facilities and equipment by some bidders. It is anticipated that the funding will go towards the diversion of around 41,000 tonnes of waste from landfill.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “This funding is great news as it will provide practical, common sense ways to make recycling easier for people in London. We hope that these initial projects will help identify the best solutions for buildings of this type.”

Flats and high rise properties comprise 50% of London's housing stock and have emerged as priority areas in both the London Waste and Recycling Board's business plan (see letsrecycle.com story) and the Mayor's municipal waste management plans (see letsrecycle.com story).

LWaRB intends to distribute the remaining £3.65 million by March 2011 with the intention of successful applicants having their schemes operational by March 2012. The deadline for the second round of funding is December 3 2010.

The projects which are to receive funding are:

• London Boroughs of Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Newham, and Redbridge (joint proposal with East London Waste Authority – ELWA)

Funding for improvements to existing flats recycling services within ELWA, including updating signage and providing reusable recycling bags to residents to carry their recycling down to onsite facilities. Funding will also go towards setting up a new flats recycling service in Newham. The total number of households to receive improvements as a result of LWARB funding is 74,310.

• London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

All of the boroughs 23,300 high-rise properties will undergo improvements to recycling services including chute conversion, updating signage, fixed mini banks on each floor on selected estates, supplying residents with reusable bags and the installation of new recycling banks.

• London Borough of Waltham Forest

Waltham Forest have received funding from the programme to increase recycling from multi-occupancy properties by installing dual bins for refuse and recycling into the kitchens of 1,045 flats, as well as providing reusable bags to almost 12,000 households.

• London Borough of Hillingdon

Hillingdon will make improvements to existing recycling services for over 12,000 households, working in partnership with Hillingdon Homes and other registered social landlords. These improvements include; relocating existing bins and installing new ones to visible, convenient locations within estate boundaries, signage improvements and increasing the collection frequency.

• London Borough of Croydon

Croydon will use the funding to supply 26,000 flats with a reusable bag to store and carry recycling to onsite facilities, increasing the amount of recycling collected from these dwellings.

• London Borough of Hackney

Hackney will supply 50,000 households in flatted properties with a reusable bag to transport recyclables down to existing on site recycling facilities. Along with reusable bags, the funding will be used to add signage to 105 key communal recycling facilities.

• London Borough of Lambeth

Lambeth will supply 18,500 properties with reusable bags, using funding from the programme to increase tonnages collected from existing services.

• London Borough of Camden

Camden will provide reusable bags to residents in 30,000 high-rise properties to store and carry recycling to banks on their estate.

• City of Westminster

Westminster city council will use the funding to make improvements to signage at ten estates with low recycling rates. These improvements, covering 4,180 households, include clear signposting to recycling facilities and the installation of new signs displaying recycling information, including the types of materials accepted at the site.