London flats to benefit from recycling scheme

The LWARB has a budget of £73.4 million made up of money from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the London Development Agency (LDA) to spend over three years to improve waste management in the capital.

The money for the recycling scheme will be divided out amongst 12 London boroughs and is expected to divert approximately 41,000 tonnes of waste from landfill.

More than 250,000 high rise properties and flats will benefit from the scheme, which will provide enhanced recycling facilities.

Improvements will include: better signage, reusable bags to help residents carry down recycling to bins on ground level; installing better, more accessible bins; mini-recycling banks on floors; more frequent collections; and recycling bins in kitchens.

The Mayor Boris Johnson said: “This funding is great news as it will provide practical, common sense ways to make recycling easier for people in London.

“We hope that these initial projects will help identify the best solutions for buildings of this type.”

This project is the first of more to come, with £5 million to be distributed for similar projects from LWARB.

LWARB chair, James Cleverly, said: “We’ve had a great response from Boroughs in round one, funding nine schemes ranging from site improvements to existing facilities through to entirely new schemes.

“The projects will collectively divert 41,000 tonnes of recycling from landfill over four years, and save almost 44,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. We are now looking forward to receiving some interesting bids for round two.”

The boroughs that have been awarded funding, are: Havering (in partnership with Barking & Dagenham, Newham, and Redbridge), Waltham Forest, Croydon, Hillingdon, Lambeth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Camden, Westminster and Hackney.

Alison Brown