Councillors agreed at a meeting yesterday (Weds) that residents who fail to recycle in a pilot area of 8,000 households will be served with a fixed penalty notice that could see them fined up to 75.
”Although we've quadrupled the recycling rate, we still need to do more.“
– Cllr Lisa Rajan, LB Southwark
Council recycling officers will be inspecting recycling boxes and waste bins from November, and issuing verbal and written warnings to residents who do not recycle.
The pilot scheme is part of a fresh drive by the central London council to lift its recycling rate from 17.5%.
Phil Davies, head of waste and management and transport told letsrecycle.com: “It's part of a three-pronged attack to encourage recycling – a publicity drive, incentive schemes and a scheme to make sure people recycle.”
Mr Davies said: “We want to get recycling up and find out what works.”
Powers
Under the new penalty scheme, fines will be issued as a last resort under the new powers given to councils under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. Southwark council, as with other authorities running compulsory schemes in London, will issue numerous advice leaflets, letters and warnings to households not recycling their waste.
But, Mr Davies said fines would be imposed on those that failed to heed warnings.
He said: “There's no point in giving them warning after warning but we want to take action and fine them. But we will only take action if we find their residual bins are contaminated with recycling – we don't want to punish people who recycle in other ways.”
If the threat of penalties is a success and increases recycling participation, the scheme will be extended to other parts of the borough.
Cllr Lisa Rajan, Southwark's executive member for environment and transport, said: “Although we've quadrupled the recycling rate, we still need to do more to meet our targets set by the government. No-one wants to see the council paying more than it needs in landfill tax, and we all recognise that we need to act responsibly with our planet's limited resources.”
Boroughs
Southwark's bid to make recycling services compulsory for residents comes after a string of London boroughs have decided to adopt such a system. As well as Southwark, Barnet, Bromley, Hackney, Harrow and Waltham Forest have all started compulsory schemes or decided to run them.
(see letsrecycle.com story)
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Mr Davies said: “We are following the model of other local London authorities. We have put a lot of money into recycling services and infrastructure, and we want people to use them.
He added: “Recycling is a cornerstone for waste management in the borough in the future, and we are looking at the best ways of encouraging people to use our schemes.”
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