Recycling in London Succeeding Despite Mayor’s Claims
26th April 2007
Article taken from www.paper-round.co.uk
Mayor Ken Livingstone recently claimed that London’s household recycling rates were far behind the rest of the country and that the capital is facing ‘a waste crisis’.
True, average household recycling levels in the UK have almost quadrupled in recent years, from 7% in 1996/97 to 27% in 2005/06, and at a 21% recycling rate London somewhat lags behind. But even here in the Capital, with all the particular challenges presented by a densely populated urban environment, there are plenty of good news stories and upward trends.
These reflect a massive effort on the part of our 37 local authorities to manage their waste more sustainably and avert Ken’s so-called waste crisis.
London recycling rates have more than doubled since 2000. Plus, London authorities now send less rubbish to landfill per head of population than the national average. Despite these more than positive trends, London authorities weren’t the top performers in Defra’s 2005/06 report. While fourteen London authorities met or exceeded their recycling targets, three of the country’s ten poorest performers were London. Last year Tower Hamlets, Newham and Lewisham recycled just 9%, 10% and 12% respectively. But the main reason why these authorities are performing badly is due to high proportion of flats and housing estates, together with a more mobile and often poorer population. This makes running a recycling scheme much more challenging than in rural areas where recycling boxes can sit neatly at the end of each individual driveway.
It’s therefore more appropriate to compare London’s performance to other large urban authorities. When the recycling rates for paper, glass and plastics were compared, nine of the top ten performing urban authorities were London boroughs, showing that London authorities actually overcoming the challenges they face and are leading the way in recycling. It is clear that the Mayor is simply inventing a picture of failing London authorities to justify his personal control. But more power and money for Ken is not necessary and will do nothing to improve recycling rates.
Recycling our waste at home is important, but just as important is to carry that habit into the rest of our lives. The Mayor would do better to be encouraging businesses to recycle and ensuring tube stations provide recycling bins for free papers. That way the good progress in household recycling can be carried through by Londoners into all aspects of their lives.