New recycling figures released yesterday have revealed that recycling in London is slowly improving, but we’re still lagging way behind other English regions.
In London households recycle 26 per cent of their waste, compared to 42 per cent in the East Midlands and 41 per cent in the East of England. The average regional recycling rate is 35 per cent.
There’s also a huge variation between boroughs, with Bexley reaching 42 per cent, while in Tower Hamlets just 13 per cent is recycled. Nine London boroughs are now recycling over 30 per cent of household waste.
Jean Lambert, the Green Party MEP for London commented on the figures saying:
"There has been some improvement in London, but we’re still lagging behind the rest of the country as the worst performing region.
"In the East Midlands they’re recycling 42 per cent whereas in London we’re only managing 26 per cent. Recycling helps to preserve our finite resources and saves energy: we should be recycling far more.
"Most households in London now have a doorstep collection, which is great, but the quality of service is a real cause for concern in some boroughs. Councils must address these problems promptly.
"We also need more action from the Government to improve the domestic markets for materials so that we don’t have to rely on exporting our waste to countries like China and Germany for recycling.
"New EU targets also mean that the UK will have to recycle 50 per cent of its paper, metal and glass from households. London has a long way to go before it meets this level.