Recycling rates drop in almost half of London boroughs

“Boris Johnson must wake up to flat-lining and falling recycling rates during his mayoralty” says Green Assembly Member Jenny Jones, as annual data published by Defra shows a declining recycling rates in sixteen of thirty three London Boroughs.

According to annual data published by Defra, sixteen out of thirty three London Boroughs recycled and composted less waste in 2013/14 compared to the previous year. The largest drop was recorded in Newham, which recycled 3.4 percentage points less at 17.6 percent, making it the worst local authority in England.

Jenny Jones and Jonathan Bartley Lambeth Recycling

Green Assembly Member Jenny Jones and the Green Party candidate for Streatham Jonathan Bartley photographed last year campaigning against the Lambeth’s council’s recycling spin attempts.

The recycling rates of the Western Riverside Waste Authority boroughs (Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea) have also fallen each year since the Belvedere Energy from Waste plant in Bexley went into operation in 2012. This incinerates black bag waste from these four London boroughs, three of which now sit among the worst six boroughs in England for recycling.

The Mayor’s household recycling target is to exceed 45 per cent by 2015. However London is only managing to recycle 33.9 per cent, fractionally worse than the previous year.

The data release also revealed that the proportion of London’s household waste incinerated in 2013/14 was 41.9 per cent, an increase of 1 per cent on the previous year. This does not include the additional 300,000 tonne annual waste capacity expected from the Viridor incinerator in Sutton that the Mayor of London granted planning permission to last summer.

Jenny Jones AM said: “Some boroughs like Bexley, Bromley and Harrow are trailblazing recycling for London, while others simply appear to have given up. They need to treat waste as a resource, and not just burn as much as they can get away with.”

“Boris Johnson must wake up to flat-lining and falling recycling rates during his mayoralty, and his abject failure to get new facilities built to reach his own targets. The situation is likely to worsen if the massive new incinerator, which the Mayor backed, goes ahead in Sutton. There is great potential to convert food waste into green energy and compost through anaerobic digestion, but this has hardly begun.”

 

Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting (Ex NI192) – 2012/13 *

Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting (Ex NI192) 2013/14 **

Percentage change +/-

***

Bexley LB

54.30%

55.21%

0.9%

Bromley LB

49.07%

49.63%

0.6%

Harrow LB

44.75%

49.15%

4.4%

Royal Borough of

Kingston upon Thames

46.31%

46.29%

0.0%

Richmond upon Thames LB

46.03%

43.29%

-2.8%

Hillingdon LB

43.04%

43.15%

0.1%

Croydon LB

44.30%

42.16%

-2.1%

Brent LB

42.50%

40.81%

-1.7%

Ealing LB

40.57%

40.15%

-0.4%

Enfield LB

38.81%

39.12%

0.3%

Merton LB

38.86%

38.87%

0.0%

Greenwich LB

39.94%

38.83%

-1.1%

City of London

36.41%

38.80%

2.4%

Sutton LB

36.53%

37.06%

0.5%

Barnet LB

33.03%

36.35%

3.3%

Haringey LB

31.66%

35.81%

4.2%

Hounslow LB

35.05%

35.14%

0.1%

Southwark LB

30.38%

34.30%

3.9%

Islington LB

31.43%

32.68%

1.3%

Waltham Forest LB

30.79%

32.57%

1.8%

Havering LB

34.60%

31.51%

-3.1%

Camden LB

30.91%

29.32%

-1.6%

Redbridge LB

29.44%

29.32%

-0.1%

Tower Hamlets LB

27.65%

27.99%

0.3%

Royal Borough of

Kensington and Chelsea

26.44%

25.45%

-1.0%

Hackney LB

24.32%

25.44%

1.1%

Barking and Dagenham LB

26.84%

24.80%

-2.0%

Lambeth LB

22.76%

21.14%

-1.6%

Westminster City Council

21.70%

21.07%

-0.6%

Hammersmith and Fulham LB

22.66%

20.53%

-2.1%

Wandsworth LB

23.45%

20.44%

-3.0%

Lewisham LB

20.03%

17.66%

-2.4%

Newham LB

21.04%

17.65%

-3.4%

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