News from Caroline Russell: Mayor throws away chance of Zero Waste City

The Mayor today refused to commit to making London a Zero Waste city by 2030, following questioning from Caroline Russell AM on the Recovery Board’s Green New Deal mission.

Only 30 per cent of London’s local authority collected waste is recycled or composted, the worst rate in all of England. 2.3 million tonnes of London’s waste was burned in 2019/20, a shocking 63.3 per cent of all waste collected. [1] This includes black bag waste which contains a lot of single-use plastics that give out carbon emissions when burned.

Environmental campaign groups point to ending incineration as a key part of a green recovery. Yet incineration in London is on the increase, up by four per cent from last year, while recycling rates are static. [2]

At today’s Mayor’s Question Time Caroline pushed the Mayor to implement new measures to reach Zero Waste by 2030, by focusing on reusing items and reducing overall waste to cut pollution and carbon dioxide emissions while creating green jobs as part of the Recovery Board’s Green New Deal mission.

Caroline Russell AM says:

London is buckling under the pressure of unsustainable waste practices. Incinerators are spewing out greenhouse gases and polluting our air.

The good news is that solutions to these problems are already well documented and can be implemented. That’s why it was so disappointing to hear the Mayor drag his heels on a Zero Waste 2030 target for London.

Getting to Zero Waste by 2030 would make our city healthier and more resilent at the same time as creating new sustainable jobs in London. It would also give councils overburdened by waste the vital support they need.

The Mayor’s Green New Deal must focus on managing common single-use plastic waste streams like nappies, wet wipes and period and incontinence products. I am pleased the Mayor agreed to develop a fully integrated London-wide reusable nappy scheme and look forward to working with him over this, as per his invitation.

The Environment Committee’s Single-Use Plastics: Unflushables report showed that waste authorities collect more than 100,000 tonnes of nappy waste a year. [3]

The Nappy Alliance has told Caroline that between 2016 and 2019, single-use disposable plastics created over 46,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year across London. [4]