'Scrap postcode lottery of local recycling schemes'

Paper mountain: A worker at the Mill Hill depot in Barnet, which exceeded its recycling target of 27 per cent last year
Mark Prigg13 April 2012

The different recycling schemes across London are "irrational and confusing" for residents and should be scrapped, it was claimed today.

Each of the capital's 33 councils has a different policy for what can and cannot be recycled and how it is done.

The London Assembly's Green Party today said it was a postcode lottery and called on Boris Johnson to implement a more standard approach for the entire capital.

Solutions to the problem of recycling range from "one bag" schemes that mix glass, paper and other materials, to plastic containers where individual types are collected and processed.

Each council also has different rules on exactly how waste is processed, leading to major variations in how effective it is.

Darren Johnson, Green Party member for the Assembly, said the Mayor should draw up guidance for local authorities that will help to promote best practice waste collection systems that are cost effective, customer friendly and that produce high-quality recycled material.

"London's recycling collections are a confusing mess with different rules in virtually every local authority about what can and can't be recycled and a hotch-potch of different coloured bins, bags and boxes," said Mr Johnson.

"While I accept that a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn't work across the whole of London, we certainly don't need 33 different schemes with 33 different sets of rules.

"It especially causes confusion when almost a fifth of Londoners change address each year."

Mr Johnson said councils should now work together to combat the problem.

He said: "Whilst I welcome the fact that London has significantly increased its recycling rates, the focus should now turn to looking at promoting a reduced number of best practice schemes for different types of households."

London Councils, which represents boroughs, said that drastic differences in the type of housing between boroughs made a "one size fits all" recycling scheme impossible.

Boroughs with a large number of high rise blocks, such as Tower Hamlets, have struggled with collecting waste for recycling effectively due to logistical problems.

Although new schemes such as the vacuum-powered underground tunnel network at a Wembley building could address these concerns, councils say it will take time for them to be widely used.

A spokesman said: "London's boroughs are always striving to make it easier for their residents to recycle.

"The various differences from borough to borough - such as housing stock and population density - mean local authorities always have to tailor the services they offer.

"Despite these challenges, boroughs, working through the London Waste and Recycling Board and with the Mayor of London, will continue to improve the recycling services offered."

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