London boroughs praised over waste reduction figures

The public-private organisation, which is tasked with boosting markets for recycled material in the capital, has said the capital is the third best region in the UK when it comes to cutting down on waste produced.

London reduced the overall amount of household waste production by 3.6% in 2005/06 compared to the year before. This surpassed the national average for England, a 2.9% reduction in overall waste tonnages, London Remade said.

As it revealed its analysis of the Defra figures, London Remade dismissed the government's view that London is the worst region in England for recycling.

It said today that a comparison between the capital and recycling performances in leafier parts of England was “inaccurate”, and that “a truer picture is identified through comparing like with like: comparing London with the other metropolitan authorities”.

In making such a comparison, London Remade said London was one of the best performing areas in 2005/06, with its average 20.6% recycling rate comparing favourably with an average of 19.88% for the 36 metropolitan authorities in England.

Awareness
Daniel Silverstone, London Remade chief executive said: “Reducing the amount of waste arisings is a key indicator to assess performance. London boroughs are improving their recycling collection systems and raising awareness to make it easy for residents to recycle their waste and reduce their rubbish. This demonstrates that real improvements are being made.”

It said recycling rates in rural areas would “always exceed those generated by urban populations” citing factors including a denser population, number of high-rise flats and the availability of green garden waste for composting as favouring recycling levels outside the city.

The analysis would appear to go against comments from London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who has denounced the London boroughs for highlighting their recycling achievements by comparing recycling rates with other English metropolitan boroughs (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Silverstone said: “By comparing London’s performance with that of other regions with rural areas, recycling in London is being misrepresented. As the figures of the metropolitan authorities illustrate, London is performing above average; and improving in comparison with cities that face similar issues.”