Ken Livingstone slams London boroughs&#39 recycling “failure”

But London Remade has supported efforts by the boroughs in reaching an average London recycling rate of 17.7% in 2004/05.

” In the end, the boroughs have to up their game on recycling as they are heading for 250 million worth of fines each year.“
– Ken Livingstone
Speaking to journalists this morning concerning his ambition to lead a single waste authority for the city, Mr Livingstone said the “failure” of boroughs in driving forward new recycling programme had deprived the capital of 10,000 potential new jobs.

He said little real progress had been made by boroughs on recycling in recent years, although Mr Livingstone conceded that “one or two boroughs” had done well on recycling, naming Sutton as a good example.

The Mayor said: “We have the worst recycling record bar one in Britain and we'll soon be the worst, and Britain has the worst recycling record in Europe. This is literally down to the failure of the boroughs.”

Latest results for household waste recycling, issued last week, put England's average recycling rate at 22.9% (see letsrecycle.com story).

Government local environment minister Ben Bradshaw said at the time: “In London, some of the authorities are making great strides, but far too many are still not making the kind of progress we all expect.”

Remade
In defence of the London boroughs, recycling organisation London Remade said this week the capital's performance compared well to other urban areas in England, stating that the average recycling rate for all English metropolitan areas was 15.48% in 2004/05.

The organisation accused Defra of providing “an inaccurate view of the recycling performance of London and other urban areas due to misrepresentative comparisons with rural areas”.

London Remade chief executive Daniel Silverstone said: “The London boroughs are working hard to overcome the challenges traditionally faced by urban recycling.

“As the figures illustrate, London is performing above average and improving in comparison with other cities that face similar issues with their recycling collection schemes, demonstrating that real progress is being made,” Mr Silverstone said.

London generates about 4.4 million tonnes of municipal waste each year, which is forecast to grow by 50% by 2020. The London Mayor believes 330 new waste recycling and treatment facilities will be needed to meet British government targets and EU Landfill Directive targets – but only a handful of major projects have come online in recent years.

Control
Through the current government review of the Mayor's powers, Mr Livingstone wants to take control of waste management in the city. He also wants to take planning powers from the 33 London boroughs to lead the development of significant new treatment infrastructure for the management of all waste streams – not just municipal waste.

Mr Livingstone said: “In the end, the boroughs have to up their game on recycling as they are heading for 250 million worth of fines each year from Europe and the British government.”