In 2018, the Mayor set a target for London’s households to recycle 50% of its rubbish by 2030. Current figures show London’s household recycling rate at 33% [1] – the same level it has been for the last 10 years.
The Mayor is required under the Greater London Authority (GLA) Act 1999 to produce a municipal waste management strategy.[2] However, the Mayor is not a waste authority and it is ultimately the boroughs, businesses and the commercial waste industry that implement the waste policies in the strategy.[3]
The London Assembly Environment Committee will meet tomorrow as part of its investigation into waste and recycling in the capital, looking at how London can get on track to meet the Mayor’s targets, and what steps the Mayor can take to support an increase in recycling in London.
Other waste and recycling targets set by the Mayor in his Environment Strategy include:
- no biodegradable or recyclable waste sent to landfill by 2026;
- recycling 65 per cent of all municipal waste by 2030;
- 50 per cent Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW) recycling target for waste authorities by 2025, a 45 per cent household waste recycling rate by 2025, and a 50 per cent household waste recycling rate by 2050
- 50 per cent reduction in food waste and associated packaging waste per head by 2030.[4]
Guests at the meeting include:
- Jemilah Bailey, Policy and Programmes Manager, Greater London Authority (GLA)
- Wayne Hubbard, Chief Executive Officer, ReLondon
- Matthew Homer, Waste and Strategy Manager, Islington Council
- Rachel Espinosa, Deputy General Manager, Western Riverside Waste Authority
- Phil Roche, Head of Commercial, Bio Collectors
- Ray Parmenter, Head of Policy and Technical, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)
The meeting will take place on Wednesday 15 November from 10am, in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.
Follow us @LondonAssembly.
Notes to editors
- Increase recycling – ReLondon
- Greater London Authority Act 1999 - Explanatory Notes (legislation.gov.uk)
- Municipal waste targets set in the strategy are non-binding in so far as they relate to Commercial Waste Contractors (CWCs).
- Local Authority Reduction and Recycling Plans - Guidance Note v2.0 (london.gov.uk)
- Full agenda papers.
- Léonie Cooper AM, Chair of the Environment Committee, is available for interview.
- Find out more about the work of the Environment Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more information, please contact Tony Smyth in the Assembly Media Office on 07510 488715. For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer.