LWaRB awards 3.7m for flats recycling in London

The money represents the second and final allocation from a 5 million fund which aims to address relatively low recycling rates in flats and high rise properties in the capital.

The first allocation, of 1.35 million, was made to 12 boroughs in November 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), and todays announcement means that 29 projects, across 26 London boroughs, will receive support from the fund.

Among the other projects to be awarded funding under the latest allocation are new food waste recycling facilities, underground recycling storage systems and the provision of new mobile recycling facilities to allow residents to recycle materials not normally accepted for recycling.

The full list of 18 boroughs to receive funding today is: Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, Brent, Hounslow, Hackney, Richmond, Westminster, Merton, Islington, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Southwark, Ealing, Bromley, Bexley, Enfield, Harrow and Croydon.

Recycling rates

The funding aims to address the fact that, while flats and multiple occupancy buildings account for around 50% of all the capitals housing, their recycling rates are currently around 10% – significantly lower than for houses.

In total, 520,000 households are expected to benefit from improved recycling facilities over the next four years as a result of the funding, with each project delivering an average recycling rate increase of 43%.

The combined 5 million in funding is also expected to divert around 75,000 tonnes of waste from landfill and prevent almost 66,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Commenting on the importance of the support, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, picked out Bexleys scheme for particular praise.

He said: This injection of cash from the London Waste and Recycling Board is great news, inspiring projects such as Bexleys Green Points scheme. I cannot think of any better incentive for people to recycle than being able to invest in their community as a return.

I have always been a huge enthusiast for this kind of scheme which revolutionises the way people think about recycling.

The ‘Green Points’ scheme had first been touted in December (see letsrecycle.com story) and will receive 108,750 of LWaRB funding to first roll-out the scheme to 2,000 households in Thamesmead before being extended to a futher 15,000 homes across the borough.

James Cleverly, chair of LWaRB, added: Some residents will be able to recycle from their property for the first time, as well as new materials including food waste and small electrical goods. This is a great step towards making it easier for residents living in these properties to recycle.

LWaRB made the 5 million support for flats recycling available to boroughs in June 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story). The Board has a budget made up of money from Defra and the London Development Agency to spend over three years to improve waste management in the capital

Specific projects

The specific projects to benefit from the second allocation of funding announced today are expected to save up to 200,000 by jointly procuring equipment such as reusable bags and recycling bins.

All the schemes are expected to be fully operational by March 2012. Todays awards were made to:

Tower Hamlets Both existing and new properties will benefit from improved recycling facilities including installation of new underground recycling containers and the conversion of underground refuse bins into recycling containers, the bid also includes partial funding for a vehicle to service these containers;

Lambeth Will use the funding to make it easier and more convenient for residents to recycle on the Blenheim Gardens estate, by creating new dedicated recycling hatches at ten of the existing bin stores;

Brent LWaRB will support Brents aim to service all blocks of flats in the borough with recycling facilities. This will include the introduction of new mixed recycling facilities to over 12,000 properties and providing almost 30,000 households with reusable bags to carry recycling down to on site facilities;

Hounslow – Will use the funding to expand and improve existing services. These improvements include the installation of recycling bins, development of flats recycling sites for easier access and better signage facilities for residents;

Hackney Will extend its existing food waste collection service to 8000 households. Caddies and liners will be provided to residents to store and transport the food waste and new communal food bins will be installed. A collection vehicle will also be purchased to deliver the expanded service;

Richmond Improvements will be made to 16,500 households, including larger capacity bins, reusable bags distributed to residents and an additional vehicle will be purchased to allow the roll out of a new collection method;

Westminster Will make improvements to signage at recycling facilities and provide over 24,000 households with a reusable bag to store and carry recycling down to onsite recycling bins;

Merton Will roll out a new food waste recycling service to over 12,650 flatted properties, made possible by new food waste facilities, supplying food waste recycling bins, food waste caddies and liners to residents;

Islington Will extend their existing food waste collection service to a further 10,000 households by supplying residents with new onsite bins, along with caddies and liners to store and carry food waste to the facilities. The funding will also be used to increase mixed recycling capacity for 7,000 households through the installation of new bins and the conversion of spare refuse chutes to recycling chutes;

Lewisham Will supply residents in 30,000 households with a reusable bag to store and carry recycling to onsite facilities, additionally a minimum of five estates will have their recycling site refurbished with new bins and new signage relating to the recycling service.;

Wandsworth – Improvements will be made to signage for existing chute recycling facilities, and where possible, to convert rubbish chutes to recycling ones;

Southwark Southwark will set up a Mobile Recycling Centre (MRC), allowing residents living in estates to recycle materials which are not currently accepted through the standard flats recycling service. The MRC will collect textiles, electrical goods and batteries. The vehicle will also have some capacity for wood and scrap metals;

Ealing Will apply new signage to communal recycling bins servicing 21,000 households. The new signs will be more durable than the existing ones meaning wear and tear along with weather damage will be minimal, allowing residents to clearly see what materials can be recycled and to clearly identify where to put the items;

Bromley The LWaRB funding will go towards extending the existing food waste recycling service for kerbside properties to 16,000 flats. This funding will include providing residents with new food waste recycling bins, caddies and liners to store and transport the food waste down to the bins, and collection vehicles to carry out the service.;

Bexley A community and household incentive scheme called London Green Points, for flatted properties will run in the Thamesmead area to increase recycling, reuse, and drive waste minimisation. Along with this, the funding will be used to extend food waste collection services to 10,000 households living on estates through providing over 200 new on-site food waste bins, as well as a caddy and supply of compostable liners to residents to help residents get started using the new service;

Enfield Enfield will use the funding to roll out a food waste collection service to 9,000 flats. This will include the installation of food waste bins as well as providing residents with liners and caddies to store and carry food to the onsite facilities;

Harrow Will expand their recycling service to remaining flats in the borough that do not currently have onsite recycling facilities. This includes the purchase of new bins to install in convenient locations on estates;

Croydon Will set up a new food waste collection service to 17,484 households living on estates. Croydon will use the funding to purchase new food waste recycling bins, supply a food waste caddy and six months worth of compostable caddy liners to help residents get started with the new service.