The north London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest collect large waste items from their residents and sometimes from businesses. This might be as part of a large item 'bulky' waste collection. Unfortunately, they also collect some large waste items that have been dumped on the street illegally - a crime known as 'fly tipping'.
Separating recycling and reusable items
Once the large items have been collected, they are first taken to north London's resource recover facility (RRF) in Enfield. Here, recyclable and reusable materials, like wood, plastics, and metal, are separated. The RRF is designed to manage around 135,000 tonnes of recyclable materials annually, with capacity to handle even more as recycling levels increase.
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The facility has 2,235 solar panels on a saw-tooth rooftop, generating enough electricity to power approximately 300 homes each year. The building has been designed to the most modern standards with systems to remove odours by 95% and infra-red sensors to detect fire threats quickly.
Sending items to reprocessors
Once the large waste items have been sorted into separate waste types, they are sold to 'reprocessors' so that they can be reused or recycled into something new. We recycle as much as possible, including some materials that are difficult to recycle, such as mattresses and carpet.
We share information about where all our waste and recycling materials go to on our website: