Request
I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the disposal of used aluminium collected through kerbside recycling services in your area.
As part of a wider investigation into the UK aluminium recycling chain, I recently submitted Freedom of Information requests to all district and borough councils within your county. Those councils have directed me to you as their Waste Disposal Authority, stating that they do not hold all the information I have requested because the sorting, processing and onward sale of recyclable materials is your responsibility, not theirs.
As the statutory Waste Disposal Authority responsible for the processing and recycling of materials collected at the kerbside by these councils, I am seeking the following information.
1. What happens to the aluminium collected at the kerbside by the waste collection authorities in your area after it is conveyed to you.
a. Which Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or facilities sort the aluminium from the recyclable waste stream?
b. Who operates this MRF? Is it operated by yourselves, a contractor, or a third party? Please name the operator.
c. Once sorted, to which company or organisation is the aluminium sold or transferred for recycling or reprocessing? Please name the company or organisation.
2. Where is the aluminium recycled?
a. Do you have any contractual requirement or policy directive specifying that aluminium must be recycled in the UK?
b. Is your aluminium recycled in the UK, or is it exported for recycling abroad?
c. If exported, to which country or countries is it sent?
3. What volume of aluminium is collected and what income does it generate?
a. How many metric tonnes of aluminium were collected at the kerbside across your area in the most recent financial year for which data is available? Please state the year.
b. How much income did you derive from the sale of this aluminium in that year?
c. Does this income subsidise, or make a substantial contribution to, the cost of your waste collection programme and is any of the income redistributed to your collecting councils?
4. What contractual arrangements are in place?
a. With who do you have contracts for the sale or transfer of sorted aluminium?
b. Do the contracts specify if the aluminium must or priority given to recycling in the UK?
c. Do the contracts require reporting on the final recycling destination of the aluminium?
Response
Good afternoon,
Further to our email acknowledging your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, our response is as follows.
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is a statutory public authority serving over two million residents in the boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, and Waltham Forest. The data below relates to the full fiscal year 2024/25.
You requested:
-
What happens to the aluminium collected at the kerbside by the waste collection authorities in your area after it is conveyed to you.
a. Which Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or facilities sort the aluminium from the recyclable waste stream?
b. Who operates this MRF? Is it operated by yourselves, a contractor, or a third party? Please name the operator.
c. Once sorted, to which company or organisation is the aluminium sold or transferred for recycling or reprocessing? Please name the company or organisation.
2. Where is the aluminium recycled?
a. Do you have any contractual requirement or policy directive specifying that aluminium must be recycled in the UK?
b. Is your aluminium recycled in the UK, or is it exported for recycling abroad?
c. If exported, to which country or countries is it sent?
3. What volume of aluminium is collected and what income does it generate?
a. How many metric tonnes of aluminium were collected at the kerbside across your area in the most recent financial year for which data is available? Please state the year.
b. How much income did you derive from the sale of this aluminium in that year?
c. Does this income subsidise, or make a substantial contribution to, the cost of your waste collection programme and is any of the income redistributed to your collecting councils?
4. What contractual arrangements are in place?
a. With who do you have contracts for the sale or transfer of sorted aluminium?
b. Do the contracts specify if the aluminium must or priority given to recycling in the UK?
c. Do the contracts require reporting on the final recycling destination of the aluminium?
Our response:
1. What happens to the aluminium collected at the kerbside by the waste collection authorities in your area after it is conveyed to you.
- a. Which Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or facilities sort the aluminium from the recyclable waste stream? Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR) is sorted at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) located in Edmonton, North London
- b. Who operates this MRF? Is it operated by yourselves, a contractor, or a third party? Please name the operator. The facility is operated by a contractor, Biffa Waste Service Ltd, on behalf of the NLWA
- c. Once sorted, to which company or organisation is the aluminium sold or transferred for recycling or reprocessing? Please name the company or organisation. Once sorted and baled, the aluminium is transferred to reprocessors. For the 2024/25 period, the material was transferred to Novelis UK Ltd.
2. Where is the aluminium recycled?
- a. Do you have any contractual requirement or policy directive specifying that aluminium must be recycled in the UK? Yes. The contractor is required to maximize the proportion of recyclates sent to facilities within the UK for reprocessing where possible. Additionally, our Joint Waste Strategy sets a target to recycle 100% of materials in the UK.
- b. Is your aluminium recycled in the UK, or is it exported for recycling abroad? In 2024/25, 100% of the aluminium collected from our seven constituent boroughs was recycled within the UK.
- c. If exported, to which country or countries is it sent? Not applicable for the 2024/25 period, as 100% remained in the UK.
3. What volume of aluminium is collected and what income does it generate?
- a. How many metric tonnes of aluminium were collected at the kerbside across your area in the most recent financial year for which data is available? Please state the year. For the 2024/25 financial year, 123,020.98 tonnes of dry mixed recycling were collected at the kerbside. Aluminium forms approximately 1.4% of our total recycling output, totalling 1,722 tonnes.
- b. How much income did you derive from the sale of this aluminium in that year? The Authority has reviewed the information it holds. Based on this review, the income received is estimated to be approximately £2.9 million. However, this figure should be treated as a best estimate.
The price that the Authority receives for aluminium is determined by the commodities market and fluctuates frequently in response to prevailing market conditions.
- c. Does this income subsidise, or make a substantial contribution to, the cost of your waste collection programme and is any of the income redistributed to your collecting councils?
All costs and income from the processing of kerbside recyclables form part of the charging mechanism between NLWA and the boroughs. Any income generated from the sale of materials has a direct impact on reducing the base cost of the service for the constituent councils
4. What contractual arrangements are in place?
- a. With who do you have contracts for the sale or transfer of sorted aluminium? NLWA has a contract with Biffa Waste Service Ltd, who manages the sale of commodities after they have been processed at the Edmonton facility
- b. Do the contracts specify if the aluminium must or priority given to recycling in the UK? Yes, as noted above, the contract specifies that priority must be given to UK-based reprocessing facilities
- c. Do the contracts require reporting on the final recycling destination of the aluminium? Yes, the contracts require reporting on the final recycling destination of the material
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may ask for an internal review, which should be submitted within two months of when you received our response to either informationrequests@nlwa.gov.uk or via our enquiry form quoting the reference above.
Kind regards,
North London Waste Authority
