Chapter 7: Waste LONDON ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY 253
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LONDON ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY 251 Chapter 7: Waste LONDON ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY 253 INTRODUCTION Cutting waste and recovering value • once waste reduction and reuse AIM from more of it can provide a number of opportunities have been exhausted Our linear economy (take, make and benefits including jobs, apprenticeships, there must be a focus on maximising London will be dispose) is unsustainable. It produces secondary materials, and affordable the recycling of materials that are left too much waste, with around 7m tonnes low carbon energy. Effective waste a zero waste coming from London’s homes, public management delivering high quality • generating low carbon energy from buildings and businesses each year, materials to market can give local truly residual waste leaving very little city. By 2026 no too much of which goes to landfill and authorities a reliable high value income waste going to landfill incineration. Of this, only 52 per cent is stream. This can help to offset costs biodegradable or currently recycled and performance has associated with service improvements. • ensuring that there is sufficient stagnated. Landfill and incineration are More of London’s reusable items infrastructure to support these recyclable waste undesirable, costly and an inefficient use like furniture, fittings and electrical actions within London helping to of resources. The capacity of landfills appliances need to be kept in use. create opportunities for businesses will be sent to accepting London’s waste is expected Redistributing them to where they developing reuse, repair and to run out by 2026 and London’s waste are needed can create local work, remanufacturing services landfill and by 2030 bill is now in in excess of £2bn a year keep resource costs down and help and rising. reduce poverty. Roles and legal duties 65 per cent of The Mayor is required under the GLA Through increasingly clever design of The Mayor will take a circular approach to Act to produce a municipal waste London’s municipal goods and services we are beginning to London’s use of resources that designs management strategy. However, the treat our waste as the valuable resource out waste, keeps materials in use at their Mayor is not a waste authority and it waste will it is. In order to maximise this we need to highest value for as long as possible and is ultimately the waste collection and reduce waste in the first place and then minimises environmental impact. The disposal authorities, businesses and be recycled. reuse or recycle as much as possible. actions required to deliver this are: the commercial waste industry that will What’s left over can then be used to implement the waste policies in this generate low carbon energy, minimising • firstly, significantly cutting waste and strategy in collaboration with the Mayor. the amount going to landfill. encouraging reuse to minimise the The Mayor’s role is a combination of use of virgin resources. Efforts will be exercising regulatory functions (ensuring focused on reducing food waste and local authority waste plans, services, single use packaging as they offer the strategies and contracts are in general biggest opportunity for change conformity with his waste policies and proposals) and non-regulatory functions LONDON ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY 255 (funding, research, technical assistance, Taking this approach places no additional The London Waste and Recycling Board providing guidance, campaigns and legal requirement on London’s waste BOX 28: DEFINITIONS OF (LWARB) is also a key delivery partner facilitating and supporting good authorities, who must continue to act in TERMS USED IN THIS CHAPTER for his policies. It brings together the practice). There are 33 waste collection general conformity within the municipal Mayor, boroughs, and other stakeholders authorities (boroughs and City of waste management provisions of this • “waste” refers to any substance involved in managing London’s waste London), 12 authorities that are “unitary” strategy, including binding targets for or object which the holder with the objective of promoting waste authorities (combined collection municipal waste in their discards, intends to discard or is and encouraging less waste and its and disposal), four statutory waste possession or control. required to discard sustainable management89 and it must disposal authorities and one voluntary • “municipal waste” household act in accordance with the Mayor’s 88 Municipal waste targets set in this waste partnership. The waste collection waste or business waste that is waste policies. The Mayor through his strategy are non-binding in so far as they authorities and the waste disposal similar in composition irrespective appointed representatives on LWARB relate to Commercial Waste Contractors authorities are referred to as ‘waste of who collects or disposes of it oversees a £20.4m fund from 2017-2020 authorities’ in this strategy. (CWCs). The Mayor expects CWCs to to deliver against its objectives of have regard to those municipal waste • “Local Authority Collected reducing waste and increasing reuse In 2011 Defra changed the definition targets and they will be achieved through Waste (LACW)” refers to all waste and recycling (see Box 29). of municipal waste to align with the EU additional activity and services by in the possession or control of definition, which defines municipal waste waste authorities, the commercial waste waste authorities. This includes much more broadly to be household industry and other relevant organisations waste collected from households waste or waste similar in composition working in partnership with the Mayor. and businesses to household waste. Applying this • “waste authority (ies)” means definition brings an additional 3.3 million To avoid confusion this strategy uses a Waste Collection Authority tonnes of waste into scope, regardless of the terms set out in Box 28. and a Waste Disposal Authority. who collects it. This change was It includes London’s 33 waste made to make sure that the UK is collection authorities (all 32 correctly reporting its performance boroughs and the City of London), for meeting its landfill diversion those 12 authorities that are targets under the European Landfill “unitary” waste authorities Directive. Commercially collected waste (combined collection and is covered in this strategy because of disposal) and the 4 statutory its importance to London’s environment waste disposal authorities generally. • “Commercially Collected Waste” refers to municipal waste in the possession or control of a body or organisation that is not a waste authority 88 South London Waste Partnership comprising Merton, Sutton, Kingston upon Thames and Croydon. LONDON ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY 257 BOX 29: LONDON WASTE AND RECYCLING BOARD (LWARB) The London Waste and Recycling • make the case to central Board (LWARB) was established under government for additional funding the Greater London Authority Act to support London waste authorities 2007 (the Act). LWARB must act in to help drive up recycling and reuse accordance with the provisions of the performance London Environment Strategy, dealing with municipal waste management, • invest £7m through London and act in general conformity with the Green Fund 2 in high growth early London Plan, so far as relating to the stage circular economy businesses. collection, treatment and disposal of LWARB is also investing £1.5m waste. in Circularity Capital, a circular economy growth capital fund, and Through LWARB, the Mayor will: will invest a further £1.5m in a • oversee a £20.4m fund between circular economy accelerator. These 2017 and 2020 funds will look to fund innovative circular economy business across • work with waste authorities to London especially reuse, repair and identify and implement the best remanufacturing projects mechanisms for improving recycling and those using low performance in flats in carbon technologies a cost effective way • provide £6.4m funding between 2017 and 2020 through Resource London to support local authorities to improve recycling rates and provide high quality and well participated municipal waste recycling services 89 More information can be found at www.lwarb.gov.uk. LONDON ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY 259 The Mayor’s waste powers: general conformity and power of direction. BOX 30: WASTE AUTHORITY EXPECTATIONS In performing their waste functions, The Mayor expects waste authorities to ensure a consistent reduce, waste authorities need to show how they to do the following in order to show reuse, recycle message is are acting in general conformity with they are acting in general conformity delivered across London the municipal waste provisions of this with this strategy’s municipal waste strategy. General conformity only applies management policies and proposals. • demonstrate how they will, to local authority collected waste (LACW) They should: or have put in place positive activities and cannot bring excessive changes to improve recycling additional costs to waste authorities. • produce a waste management performance identified through The Mayor has the power to direct a strategy or plan setting out how Resource London’s borough waste authority where he considers their waste activities will: support programme their waste activities to be detrimental to implementing the municipal waste º help move waste up the • publicly notify its intention to tender provisions in this strategy. His power of waste hierarchy a waste contract at the same time direction does not apply to businesses as notifying the Mayor. This would or