Speaking at the “Buying Into a Sustainable Future: Green Procurement and Waste Recycling” conference, the Mayor stressed the importance of creating markets for ‘green’ products.
The Mayor said: “London's recycling gap is at its widest when it comes to actually buying recycled content products. My message to London's businesses and public sector organisations, is simple – if you are not buying recycled, then you are not truly recycling.”
The Green Procurement Code was set up by the Mayor in June 2001. It aims to help private and public sector organisations increase their use of products using recycled materials, without significantly raising costs.
Over 200 organisations have signed up to the code, including British Airways, Sainsbury’s, Barclay’s Bank and all but three of London’s local authorities. Plans are now being considered to expand the scheme outside of the capital.
London Remade is running the code and provides a free brokerage service to source recycled products, so firms can avoid the time and money spent finding specific products. London Remade also raises private investment into recycling schemes.
Over 1,000 tonnes of waste materials have been recycled or refurbished and sold through the code. The products include refilled printer cartridges, fleece jackets made from recycled plastic bottles and reprocessed construction materials.
Opportunities
Hugh Carr-Harris, chief executive of London Remade, said: “Recycling is not just about the environmental benefits, there are real commercial opportunities for business in recycled content products. If we are not careful, London and the UK will lose out on the investment, jobs and income that green technologies can generate.
“In London alone, we have already attracted some 15 million of private investment in four new pioneering Eco Industrial Sites which turn locally collected waste into marketable end products, many of which are sold within local markets.”
LDA
The London Development Agency's chief executive, Michael Ward, told the conference that building on existing 5.4 million partnership the LDA has with London Remade, it also has plans to develop London's waste reprocessing industry with an investment of 8 million.
This investment will aim to encourage the private and public sectors to buy more recycled goods, provide business development support for reprocessing firms in London, attract inward investment and encourage reprocessing firms into London. It will also look into helping recycling companies secure appropriate land sites in the Capital.
Mr Ward said: “Waste should not be seen as London's problem, but as a major resource which offers huge potential for economic growth and job creation. The LDA is totally committed to facilitating new processing and recycling activities and to supporting those businesses which produce recycled products. Cleaning up London makes economic as well as environmental sense.”
Register for free to comment