Mayor urges Londoners to recycle this Christmas

11 December 2008

The Mayor has called on all Londoners to recycle their rubbish this Christmas, as the new London Waste and Recycling Board decided how best to boost recycling across the capital and how to improve the way London manages its waste.

Christmas is a time when more waste than ever is created in London - 10 per cent extra rubbish than the rest of the year- and the Mayor urged Londoners to do their bit, as he chaired the second meeting of the London Waste and Recycling Board.

The Board agreed it will focus its efforts in three main areas which will improve London’s recycling efforts, cut carbon emissions and save Londoners money. This will be achieved through increasing recycling of priority material such as plastic and extracting energy from food waste and from waste wood. London spends around £12 billion on energy including heating and if properly managed our waste could potentially generate two thirds of our domestic energy needs. The Board will report back in February 2009 with its proposals for investment to target these priority areas.

Half of the country's restaurants are in the capital, which offers London a huge opportunity to collect the waste food and turn it into cheap and clean energy. Currently 500,000 tonnes of wood and one million tonnes of food waste are being sent to landfill, which could instead be used to create energy and save London millions of pounds. The Board aims to cut back London’s reliance on expensive virgin materials by using the waste resource that we currently send to landfill or incinerate. The Board also announced that it will begin engaging with the recycling market so it will be ready to work with the Board when further details are announced in February.

The Mayor, said: ‘It is very timely that as the London Waste and Recycling Board meets, the Christmas festivities are just around the corner. This is a time when we produce acres of extra waste, from discarded wrapping paper and packaging, to food leftovers and the Christmas tree on Twelfth Night - and we should all be recycling it, instead of chucking it in the bin.

'We have a massive opportunity in London to get smarter in the way we manage waste instead of depending on the traditional and environmentally harmful methods such as landfill and incineration. We need to stop thinking of our rubbish as 'waste' - it is in fact a resource. The new London Waste and Recycling Board has taken its first steps towards identifying the best ways to direct its funds to help to create cleaner energy from our food and garden waste, to develop emerging technologies and to make recycling easier for Londoners. By choosing these priorities we can stimulate the creation of green collar jobs, cut the emissions which are causing climate change and dramatically boost our recycling efforts.’

Chairman of London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee Councillor Daniel Moylan said: ‘Christmas is a timely reminder that Londoners can recycle so much of the waste that we produce. And once again the capital’s boroughs will be doing everything in their power to make it as easy as possible for them to do so – from providing local Christmas tree recycling points to collections woven in around the holidays for all those extra cards, paper, bottles and jars. If they haven’t already done so, I urge all Londoners to check with their local council to see what services are being offered for their home and to check the location of their nearest recycling centre. ‘Working with Londoners and the Mayor, we hope to make this the capital’s greenest Christmas yet.’

London’s 33 boroughs remain statutorily responsible for the collection and disposal of waste in the capital. The London Waste and Recycling Board was announced by the Government in 2006, with the aim of bringing together all those involved in managing the capital's waste.

The Board agreed at its first meeting to fund a 12 month Recycle for London campaign. The campaign encourages Londoners to recycle more and provides the information to make it easier for them to do so, building awareness and promoting behavioural change.

Log onto the Recycle for London website www.recycleforlondon.com for further information on local recycling services this Christmas.

Notes to Editors

1. The recommendations flowed from policy committee set up at the Board’s inaugural meeting in September.

2. For more on the Board and its roles and responsibilities go to www.lwarb.gov.uk

3. The Mayor announced in May that he would Chair the Board, which was originally given a proposed budget of £60 million, but as part of the new working relationship with London's boroughs, the Mayor has also committed to directing up to £24 million of London Development Agency funds to complement the work of the Board.

4. The previous administration published a Municipal Waste Management Strategy in September 2003. The Strategy set a vision and policies to 2020, however most of the proposals were written with an expectation that they were delivered by 2006. The London Waste and Recycling Board must act in accordance with the Mayor's Municipal Waste Management Strategy when undertaking its functions.

5. The Mayor of London’s detailed waste strategy is set to be published in the course of 2009.

6. Board members in addition to the Mayor are: Peter Jones OBE; Councillor David Williams, Leader, London Borough of Merton; Councillor Daniel Moylan, Deputy Leader, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and Chairman of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee; Councillor Clyde Loakes, Leader, London Borough of Waltham Forest; Councillor Colin Hall, Deputy Leader, London Borough of Sutton, and Vice Chairman of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee; Peter Calliafas; Valerie Owen OBE.

For media enquiries please call Hilary Merrett or Nicola Dillon in the Mayor’s Press Office on 020 7983 4755/4066 or Chris Hogwood London Councils on 020 7934 9757 (Numbers not for publication). For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000. For non-media enquiries please call the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100