LONDON’S WASTED RESOURCE THE MAYOR’S MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY NOVEMBER 2011 the Mayor’s MunicipaL waste ManageMent strategy copyright Waste Authority case studies and pictures: Greater London Authority Ander Zabala and Mark Griffin (Hackney), November 2011 Andrew Ford, Matthew Homer, and Jessica Hodge (Islington), Andrew Lappage and Barbara Published by Herridge (NLWA), Antony Greener (Nottingham Greater London Authority City Council), Bob Fiddik and David Gee City Hall, The Queen’s Walk (Southwark), Bruno Stead and Georgio Tafla London SE1 2AA (Kensington and Chelsea), Claire Fairclough (Keep Britain Tidy), Ellen Struthers and Mandy www.london.gov.uk Scharer (Tower Hamlets), Helen Barclay and enquiries 020 7983 4100 Stephen Didsbury (Bexley), Kevin Crook minicom 020 7983 4458 (Lambeth), Malcolm Kendal (Croydon), Michael Singham (Wandsworth), and Phil Robson ISBN 978-1-84781-460-9 (Westminster). Cover image © 2011 BURNS & NICE Ltd, London Other contributing organisations: ART, British Food Drinks Association, Charity contributors credits Retail Association, Coca Cola Great Britain & Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd., Environmental GLA Group: Services Association, Food and Drink Federation, Alex Nickson, Ana Costea, Andrew Richmond, IEC London Expert Panel on Waste, Inmidtown, Bert Glover, Daniel Evanson, Doug Simpson, Insinkerator, Keep Britain Tidy, London Emma Lewis, Felicity Morris, Gill Lawton, Helen Assembly, London Community Resource Woolston, Ian Klesmer, Isabel Dedring, Jo Dack, Network, London Councils Transport and John Jackson, Jonathan Pauling, Kevin Reid, Environment Committee, London First, London Kulveer Ranger, Larissa Bulla, Leah Davis, Lisa Remade, London Reuse Limited, London Walduck, Louise Clancy, Michael Backhurst Sustainability Exchange, London Waste and Michael Doust, Mike Lancaster, Patrick Feehily, Recycling Board, May Gurney Environmental Pete Daw, Peter Heath, Peter North, Richard Services, Members of the EPS Steering Group, Linton, Robert Hall, Ross Hudson, Simon Cousins, Mike Tobin Ltd, Powerday, Real Nappies for Simon Wyke, Sue Johnson, Sumeet Manchanda, London, Six Smith Business Consultancy, Stephen Tate and Tom Lancaster. Sterecycle, Team London Bridge, Veolia, Viridor, Whitehouse Consulting, WRAP. Government Departments: All London boroughs and waste disposal Consultants, copy editors and designers: authorities; Defra and WRAP – Andy Gregory, Eunomia Research and Consulting, Helen Keith James, Michael Sigsworth, Neil Hughes, Johnstone, John Wilson, Ove ARUP and Paula Cani, and the Defra Waste Policy Review Partners Ltd., Levett-Therivel Consultants, Team, Environment Agency - Iain Regan, Keith SKM Enviros, SLR Consulting. Bates, Terry Coleman; London Councils – Alice Ellison, Michael Ojo and members of the Officer Advisory Panel on Waste. London’s wasted resource the Mayor’s MunicipaL waste ManageMent strategy noveMber 2011 the Mayor’s MunicipaL waste ManageMent strategy contents Foreword 6 PREFACE 7 executive summary 11 chapter ONE – LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY CONTEXT 21 chapter TWO – CURRENT PERFORMANCE ON MANAGING LONDON’s MUNICIPAL WASTE 25 chapter THREE – the Mayor’s approach For London’s MunicipaL waste ManageMent 37 chapter Four – THE RATIONALe FOR THE MAYOR’s APPROACH 47 chapter Five – DELIVERING CHANGE: POLICIES AND PROPOSALs 65 Policy 1: Informing producers and consumers of the value of reducing, reusing, and recycling municipal waste 66 Policy 2: Reducing the climate change impact of London’s municipal waste management 77 Policy 3: Capturing the economic benefits of municipal waste management 94 Policy 4: Achieving high recycling and composting rates resulting in the greatest environmental and financial benefits. 103 Policy 5: Stimulating the development of new municipal waste management infrastructure, particularly low carbon technologies 115 Policy 6: Achieving a high level of street cleanliness 124 5 appendices (in separate documents) Appendix 1: Legislative framework for managing London’s municipal waste Appendix 2: Implementation plan Appendix 3: Contributing towards national waste targets Appendix 4: Independent research informing the Mayor’s Municipal Waste Management Strategy a Economic Modelling for the Mayor’s Municipal Waste Management Strategy b Determining the costs of meeting the EPS and carbon intensity floor c Development of a CO2eq emissions performance standard for the management of London’s municipal waste d A review of the methodological approach used to develop an EPS for the management of London’s municipal waste e The performance of London’s municipal waste recycling and composting collection services. Appendix 5: The Mayor’s preferred approach: assumed waste flows and sources of waste Appendix 6: FORS case study: City of London Corporation Appendix 7: Glossary the Mayor’s MunicipaL waste ManageMent strategy Foreword As the old saying goes, where there is muck disposal on the environment. I am taking steps there is brass and there is a massive economic to see that the facilities we need get built and opportunity inherent in London’s waste which we have jump started this market through the we must harvest to its full potential. innovative London Green Fund. In addition, there are pressing environmental Furthermore, whilst recycling levels in the imperatives driving the need for change to capital are steadily improving, with some current practices. We must stop producing boroughs achieving commendable results, we mountains of waste in the first place, discarding need to do more. I want recycling to rapidly items that can be re-used again or recycled become much more a part of everyday life and move away from a reliance on landfill and whether at home, on the move or in the office incineration. and regardless of where people live. This is why I am working with the voluntary and community My ambition is to put ‘the village’ back into the sector and borough councils to drive down city. What I mean by this is that we can improve waste, increase reuse and boost recycling, all of the quality of life for Londoners by ensuring which will help to achieve my vision of making that we focus our efforts on delivering a cleaner London a zero waste city. and greener city, with stronger and safer communities through our work to make London London’s waste management is complex, more sustainable and prosperous for decades involving many organisations. It is the Mayor’s more to come. role to outline, facilitate and accelerate positive change. This strategy seeks to establish London My vision laid out here is to create the as a world class manager of its municipal waste. fertile conditions that encourage the new I thank everyone who has helped produce this infrastructure and fresh approaches required document to the benefit of Londoners’ quality to turn waste into a lucrative commodity and of life. improve Londoners’ quality of life. This is already generating a raft of new job opportunities and enterprises in response to these changing needs. For example, a ‘greener’ generation of innovative technologies is making it possible to fuel homes, businesses and vehicles from material that in the past, we have just chucked away. Significantly increasing these new ways to treat waste is an investment opportunity worth hundreds of millions to our economy, which Boris Johnson will dramatically reduce the impact of rubbish Mayor of London 7 © 2011 BURNS & NICE Ltd, London the Mayor’s MunicipaL waste ManageMent strategy PREFACE A strategic framework for enhancing The Mayor’s environment strategies and quality of life in London and protecting programmes are built on three policy pillars. the environment These are retrofitting London, greening London, and cleaner air for London. These The Municipal Waste Management Strategy is pillars aim to improve the quality of life for part of a series of strategies that together set Londoners and visitors, and to make the capital out actions and policies to make London the more attractive. The Mayor’s programmes that best big city in the world. How? By improving underpin these pillars are delivering targeted the quality of life of Londoners and making the improvements and benefits that Londoners city more sustainable. can see and experience around them. They also aim to make public services more efficient The future of the planet lies in cities. In the and less of a burden on tax payers, whilst 1950s just 29 per cent of people lived in towns delivering wider environmental benefits such and cities. By the close of the 20th century as conserving water, saving energy or reducing that figure had increased to 47 per cent, and waste. by 2050 it will hit 70 per cent. There are clearly benefits to city living. People live longer, have The three ‘pillars’ and example access to better education, extensive public programmes: transport, greater healthcare provision, more social, cultural and economic opportunities Retrofitting London and a lower carbon footprint. The Mayor is Retrofitting London’s existing buildings is not working to ensure that London not only retains only crucial to tackling London’s CO2 emissions, its world city status but remains among the it also reduces energy and water use, delivers best places on the planet to live, whatever your new jobs and skills, as well as saving London age or background. He also wants to ensure businesses and homes money on energy bills. that the city is liveable and its development is Almost 80 per cent of the 14,000 low carbon sustainable for future generations. jobs that could be created per year from delivering