Dealing with your waste better

Almost one million tonnes of municipal waste (the waste collected by local authorities) is produced in north London every year. Despite slight declines in recent years in the amount of municipal waste in north London  (2% in 2009/10 and 1% in 2010/11), we are still expecting the amount generated in north London to increase by 4.5% between 2010/11 and 2020.

Currently 29.4% of the area’s household waste is recycled; the rest is either incinerated, or goes to landfill which is both expensive and damaging to the environment. Waste disposal costs are increasing and, based upon current disposal rates, landfill space is decreasing rapidly. It is estimated that there is only three years left before all landfill space in the East of England is exhausted (Source: Environment Agency). Once this space is used, no more waste can be sent there.

Therefore, we are working on one of the largest procurement projects in the UK today, with £600 million being invested in new waste management infrastructure that will help north London to recycle more and allow us to deal with your waste in a more sustainable way.

The waste services contract will develop a sustainable waste management solution for north London, including building and operating new waste and recycling facilities.  However, some of the waste will not be able to be recycled or composted and will therefore be used to create a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF), which we will look to use to recover value from our waste under the fuel use contract.

We are also working with our seven constituent boroughs to encourage waste prevention and higher levels of recycling and composting, with the aim of achieving a 50% combined recycling and composting rate across the NLWA area by 2020.

The waste services contract will provide the facilities that are needed to help make that aim a reality.