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When it comes to recycling there’s no time to waste

Created on
08 November 2017

Currently, only 30 per cent of household waste in London is recycled, well below the national average of 43 per cent1.

As the city grows, London will need to significantly increase household recycling if it wants to reduce its waste bill. The Mayor has set the goal of making London a zero-waste city by 2030.

To explore how to reach that goal, the committee will ask about:

  • Increasing London’s capacity to recycle food waste by 2020.
  • Reducing residual bin size and collections frequency to increase recycling.
  • Improving and simplifying recycling so London’s waste can be turned into the products of tomorrow.
  • Establishing a good recycling service in flats.



The London Assembly Environment Committee will tomorrow hold the second round of three meetings into its waste management investigation. This meeting will focus on how to encourage Londoners to recycle more and better.

The guests are:

  • Councillor Feryal Demirci, Labour Councillor for Hoxton East & Shoreditch, Vice-Chair of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee, LWARB Board member & Hackney Cabinet Member
  • Andy Richmond, Environment Team, GLA
  • Robert Hunt, Chief Corporate Officer, Veolia
  • Antony Buchan, Head of Resource London, LWARB
  • Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, Labour Councillor for Ealing, Cabinet Member Environment, Transport & Leisure, LWARB Board member
  • Paul Killoughery, Group Managing Director and Owner, Bio Collectors

The meeting will take place on Thursday 09 November from 10 am in the Chamber at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).

Media and members of the public are invited to attend

The meeting can also be viewed LIVE via webcast or YouTube

Follow us on Twitter @LondonAssembly and take part in the meeting discussion using #AssemblyEnv, #Recycling

Like us on Facebook @london.assembly

Notes to editors

  1. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, (2015 – 2016) Local authority collected waste generation from April 2000 to March 2016 and Local Authority data April 2015 to March 2016, available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/592899/LA_regional_spreadsheet_march_2016rev.xls [accessed on 30/10/17]
  2. Full Agenda papers.
  3. Leonie Cooper AM, Chair of the Environment Committee is available for interview.  See contact details below.
  4. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

For media enquiries, please contact Sonia Labboun on 020 7983 5769.  For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer.  Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.

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