More details about the work of London Business Waste & Recycling (www.lbwr.co.uk) were given last week to the annual London Conference on recycling. Delegates heard that by running commercial waste services, local authorities could gain income to support other services.
Antony Buchan, head of programme for the Resource London organisation (which is backed by WRAP and the London Waste & Recycling Board) told the conference: “There is a clear and unexploited market in the commercial waste sector. London councils face 12% cuts in core funding and if we can support boroughs to increase income from other areas, then this will support other services.”
Mr Buchan said that best estimates of the size of the commercial and industrial waste sector in London were that there was about 4.6 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste annually with about £500 million a year spent by businesses on waste management each year.
‘Trust’
Local authorities are a trusted brand, Mr Buchan told his audience. “Businesses believe that if they contract with the local authority they will be provided with a good and cost-effective service.”
He continued: “Local authorities have unbeatable infrastructure, fleets, depots and the tipping points as well.”
But, as local authorities were generally not set up to be entrepreneurial and can be bureaucratic, working with the LBWR would have benefits, explained Mr Buchan.
Mr Buchan – who was giving the presentation on behalf of James Fulford, the chief executive of LBWR – said that councils were “not exploiting the clear and opportunity and market advantage they have”.
LBWR
LBWR notes on its website that it works in partnership with local government to improve councils’ commercial waste and recycling services. Its two objectives are (a) to increase revenues for London local authorities and (b) increase the recycling of London’s business waste. And, it emphasises: “And, because we’re set up to work in the public interest, we give our partners ALL the profits.”
Explaining how the new organisation would work, Mr Buchan said: “We’re creating an umbrella back office for managing a commercial waste service for London boroughs.”
Then, he said there would be SPVs – special purpose vehicles – created for each borough and they would go out “and win contracts with SMEs and larger businesses that have a footprint in a number of local authorities. Services are delivered by the local authority which already goes down these streets.”
Target
The involvement of the local authorities in commercial waste collections will also help towards achieving the Mayor’s target of 50% municipal recycling by 2020, said Mr Buchan.
The conference heard that as of March 10, there had been nine local authority expressions of interest with Hounslow and Southwark the front runners. A board has been set up and the legal framework drawn up with the potential for operations to start in the “first couple of quarters of next year”.
Payment will be based on pay by weight with on demand and recycling-led collections.
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