Shared services ‘would boost London recycling’

But, Antony Buchan ruled out a single recycling system for London, as there is no ‘one size fits all’ policy which could cater to the needs of all residents in the capital.

Mr Buchan was speaking at the London Conference 2015, organised by letsrecycle.com in Holborn yesterday (February 11), where delegates gathered to find out about the latest recycling challenges facing the capital’s 32 boroughs.

He said: “In 2013/14 we saw flatlining and even decreasing recycling rates. This is a trend we need to break. We have communication services in place but it’s often difficult to get residents to engage.

“We still really don’t understand what the impact of contamination is. We are beginning to see the impact with severe cost impacts for local authorities and service operators and that will have a knock on effect on recycling rates.”

Consistency

He continued: “Local authorities are excellent at developing services but there is no consistency. We need to work more holistically across London. This doesn’t mean one system for London and it doesn’t mean giving up sovereignty on your services. It means working together on auxiliary services and large scale service procurements.”

Mr Buchan added that the London Waste and Recycling Board had started looking into flats recycling as one area where recycling could be improved. The findings could be used in guidance for new-build flats by the Greater London Authority.

Also speaking at the conference, Stuart Hayward-Highman – technical development director at SITA UK – raised the specific challenges facing single system recycling in London.

He reiterated that London is not one city, with each borough facing its own unique challenges to overcome.

Population

Mr Hayward-Highman said that population density in some London boroughs was a significant challenge to recycling rates. The overall population in the capital is at its highest since 1939.

He said: “A single system won’t be ideal. The length of time spent in your home, population density and deprivation are all big factors that impact recycling in London.”

The third speaker of the morning James Fulford meanwhile championed the benefits that council-owned companies could bring to the table – enabling local authorities to share services and generate revenue from commercial waste.

Mr Fulford, who serves as director of consultancy firm Eunomia, cited Ubico Ltd in Gloucestershire as one such example of successful joint working between authorities (see letsrecycle.com story).