Westminster trial sees recycled glass used as paving material

The council is re-surfacing Stratford Place – just off Oxford Street – in a trial using glass collected from the Westminster borough. The project is using 10 tonnes of material, which is the equivalent of 25,000 bottles or 5 bottle banks.

London Remade chair Colin Roberts helps Westminster council's Judith Warner with some of the recycled glass material in Stratford Place

Commenting on the scheme, Westminster cabinet member for street environment Judith Warner, said: “We will be looking closely at the results of this trial and considering future uses for this material. As a council, we are keen to explore cost-effective ways of recycling the council’s waste and reusing these materials in infrastructure improvements.”

The glass from the borough, collected by Onyx Environmental and Cory Environmental, is supplied to a London Remade Eco Site, operated by Day Group Ltd. It is then processed and Westminster can buy back its own waste and to use as a sub-layer for roads.

London Remade, a partnership between the private, public and volunteer sectors aiming to promote the use of recycled materials, is also looking to get other London boroughs interested in following Westminster city council's lead.

Chief executive of London Remade, Hugh Carr-Harris explained: “If each London Borough were to follow this initiative and used this product of their resurfacing needs, over the next three years at least 75,000 tonnes of mixed glass could be diverted away from landfill and back into the capital’s infrastructure.”

According to those working with the recycled material, the material performs as well as the sand that is normally used but is lighter to lift since it doesn't retain as much water.

“The results have been very positive,” said Peter Lamprell, Westminster council highways client manager. “We have found it to perform in exactly the same way as sand. The added benefit for Westminster is that we are helping to develop the market for the glass which is collected within the Borough, thus closing the recycling loop and gaining financial benefit at the same time.”