Reducing, reusing and recycling London’s waste

We are focusing on how best to reduce, reuse and recycle household and business waste in London.

London’s Wasted Resource

We produce around 20 million tonnes of waste in London every year and this is forecast to increase as our city continues to grow. To reverse this trend we are focusing on how best to reduce, reuse and recycle household and business waste.

The Mayor’s Municipal and Business Waste Strategies

Following extensive consultation, the Mayor published his Municipal and Business Waste Management Strategies on 18 November 2011.

Waste presents both challenges and opportunities. While London is recycling more than ever before, more can and should be done for the capital to catch up with the other UK regions and European cities.  The Mayor wants a step change in the way both Londoners and the city’s businesses manage their waste, a change that will see London lead the way into a more resource and cost efficient future.

The Mayor’s Municipal and Business Waste Strategies set out the framework for reducing the amount of waste London generates, significantly increase recycling and composting performance, and generating energy from the remaining waste in the greenest way possible.

Mayor’s Municipal Waste Management Strategy

The Mayor’s Municipal Waste Management Strategy sets out a number of initiatives including:

  • Londonwide and local campaigns aimed at increasing people’s awareness of the value of reducing, reusing and recycling waste, and providing tools and information to help people do the right thing
  • Setting a greenhouse gas emissions performance standard (EPS) for London’s municipal waste management to move from being a contributor to climate change towards playing a role in climate change mitigation
  • A programme of action to help London’s waste authorities better capture the economic benefits of their waste
  • Programmes to boost London’s recycling rate and help deliver consistent and high quality waste and recycling services across London
  • Funding to support the development of new waste management infrastructure in London, helping to turn this valuable material into new products and low carbon heat and power for Londoners
  • A programme of action for making London a clean and pleasant city to live in and visit leading up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.

Mayor’s Business Waste Management Strategy

The Mayor’s Business Waste Management Strategy sets out plans to help London’s businesses manage their waste more efficiently and effectively. Key parts include:

  • Facilitating business support programmes that help businesses understand the financial and commercial opportunities in waste reduction, reuse, recycling and reclaimed materials
  • Helping businesses to increase their access to recycling services and reducing barriers to waste for reuse, recycling, composting and energy recovery
  • Providing strategic investment to stimulate the development of new waste management infrastructure within London
  • Using the planning process in London to drive resource efficiency improvements in the construction and demolition sector. 

Download the documents

To download the strategies and supporting documents, visit the Mayor’s Municipal and Business Waste Management Strategies publication page.