I'm determined to use this board and office to increase London's rate of recycling dramatically
Boris Johnson
However, it is still expected to be some time before the board is in a position to identify sites and allocate funds for much-needed recycling facilities.
At the meeting, which was held at City Hall, Mr Johnson remarked that London's recycling rate was currently “lamentable” in comparison to other parts of the UK and cities such as New York, and set out his determination to tackle the issue.
Pointing towards the possibility of paying Londoners to recycle – which he has pledged to do in his bid to become Mayor – he said: “I want us to have a big impact working with the boroughs in implementing our waste management strategy”, including delivering infrastructure and “rewarding Londoners for recycling.”
The eight-member board – which was set up to bring together the Mayor, the boroughs and others to tackle the capital's waste – has been charged with allocating £60 million from Government and a further £24 million from the London Development Agency.
It is expected to provide strategic direction over waste in the capital after proposals for a single London wide waste authority by former mayor Ken Livingstone were rejected.
Marking a productive start, members agreed to fund a twelve-month Recycle for London campaign which will encourage Londoners to recycle and provide information to make it easier for them to do so. The GLA has run the initiative since 2003, and it has already been seen by nearly half of Londoners.
Further agreement was reached over how often the board would meet – with the proposal of four times a year, including an annual general meeting, approved, and it was decided to create a policy sub-committee of a maximum of eight members to develop policies for the board.
This would include two waste and recycling board members, two representatives from the GLA and London Councils and two representatives from industry and finance. Members agreed that Peter Jones and Peter Calliafas should sit on the sub-committee, with Mr Calliafas as chair.
However, despite these decisions, agreement was not reached over a vision for the board – and what it would focus on in particular.
While members agreed with a rough vision put forward – that the board needed to support projects which “made a difference and had a lasting impact” and should focus on priority materials, waste minimisation, and increased recycling – including that for SMEs – councillor Daniel Moylan, deputy leader for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, suggested that an “away day” was needed to hone these ideas before the next meeting of the board in December.
It is expected that only after this meeting and after the board commissions research into where it wants to target its support will its benefit really be felt.
Holistic
Peter Jones, who is the mayor's representative on the board, told letsrecycle.com that the board would provide a much more holistic approach over waste in the capital.
He said: “What we have agreed here this morning enables us effectively as a board to all understand the length, depth and breadth of the issue. There are an awful lot of issues in waste that are difficult to collate into a cohesive framework.
“There is this complex range of technologies available, economic and socio-political influences. A lot of the debate is waged around technology but it is the economic and public communications that will be crucial.
He added: “As a board we have a very, very tight frame. By December we will hopefully have some understanding of that structure – for me that revolves around the carbon agenda, the interrelationship between waste and energy, agriculture and food issues.
“I would have thought by summer or spring next year we will have identified the low-hanging fruit.”
The next meeting of the London Waste and Recycling Board is scheduled for December 11, followed by a spring meeting on February 12 2009.
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