Recycling and Sustainability: Our Local Commitment

Recycling and Sustainability are more than policy words for our community — they are active goals embedded in daily operations. Our municipal approach to waste separation encourages residents to sort organics, paper, glass and mixed containers at the kerbside, while local schemes for bulky-item reuse and household hazardous waste collections reduce landfill. We set a clear recycling percentage target to drive measurable progress: an ambitious 65% household waste recycling rate by 2030, reflecting both curbside recycling and community-led reuse activities.

We work with neighbourhoods and small businesses to increase capture rates across the boroughs with targeted campaigns for plastics reduction, food waste segregation and textile reuse. The emphasis on waste recycling initiatives includes seasonal drives and business-to-business collection hubs that make it easier to divert materials from energy recovery to true material recycling. Our strategy balances kerbside services with shared community collection points to meet diverse local needs.

Our network of local transfer stations forms the backbone of collection logistics. These transfer stations consolidate materials for onward transport and sorting, reducing heavy vehicle mileage across town. They are designed to accept separated streams — paper, cardboard, mixed containers, food and garden organics — and to support local materials recovery facilities. By locating transfer hubs close to communities we cut journey lengths and emissions while keeping processing efficient.

Partnerships, Community Recycling and Circular Activity

Partnerships with charities, social enterprises and community groups are central to our circular economy approach. We coordinate with local charities to divert usable furniture, clothes and electricals to people in need, and to run repair cafés and reuse pop-ups. These collaborations not only reduce waste but create social value. Strong partnerships help scale donation logistics and ensure items are repaired, refurbished, or redistributed rather than discarded.

The boroughs' approach to resource recovery extends to an integrated set of activities: community composting sites, commercial food waste contracts, mattress recycling schemes and dedicated textile sorting centres. We support reuse networks that accept bulky items and promote product longevity. A short list of typical activities includes:

• Kerbside sorting of glass, paper, plastics and cans
• Food waste collections for anaerobic digestion and compost
• Textile banks and furniture reuse partnerships with local charities
• Bulky waste reuse routes and repair initiatives

These community recycling actions complement formal services and help reach our 65% recycling goal by encouraging residents to recycle more effectively and to choose reuse over disposal.

Low-Carbon Vehicles and Transport Initiatives

Transitioning our fleet is a practical step toward sustainable collections. We are rolling out low-carbon vans and a growing number of electric or hybrid collection vehicles for smaller rounds, drop-offs and charity collections. These low-emission vehicles reduce local air pollution and cut operational carbon associated with transfer trips and local drop-off services. Investing in cargo bikes and micro-hub delivery for small collection activities further reduces reliance on diesel vans.

Operational changes go hand in hand with behaviour change: shorter routes, optimized round planning and evening collection options to avoid congestion. The combination of more efficient routing and the use of low-carbon vans helps to lower our transport footprint while maintaining a high level of service for residents and partner organisations.

Measuring progress is essential. We publish annual waste composition studies, recycling performance dashboards and updates on partnership outcomes to track progress toward our target. By highlighting metrics such as capture rates for food waste, contamination levels in the recycling stream, and the tonnes diverted through charity partnerships, we ensure transparency and accountability. Together, through effective recycling programmes, local transfer station efficiency, charity collaborations and a greener vehicle fleet, we aim to build a resilient, low-carbon waste system that keeps resources circulating and supports community wellbeing.