The ‘flats recycling programme’, run by the London Waste & Recycling Board (LAWRB), has so far distributed over £4m of funding to 26 boroughs.

Twenty nine projects have been launched, including improvements to signage, development of food waste bring banks and improvements to dry recycling services.

A new report, published today, shows progress and projected improvements in the coming years as more of the schemes mature.

In the next four years, LWARB expects average levels of recycling in each household involved in the programme to rise by almost 29kg. In all, an additional 60k tonnes of recycling is expected, saving over 40k tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Croydon, for instance, received around £370k (including funding for communications from Recycle for London) to implement a new communal food waste scheme to over 15,000 households. The scheme is already diverting nearly 40kg of food waste per household per year.

The report also shows that the funded schemes cost 36% less than anticipated thanks to joint procurement of equipment. The savings have been reinvested into other LWARB borough services.

The report also includes best practice elements from each scheme type and can be used by local authorities throughout London, the UK and further afield to assist them in rolling out flats recycling schemes.

The most successful projects communicated and engaged with householders by developing strong pre-project planning, good programme monitoring and the development of effective working partnerships, said LWARB chair Richard Tracey.

David Burrows

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