The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan today (11 August) launched plans to help make London a zero waste city.
The Environment Plan consults on a number of waste targets and standards, including aiming for no biodegradable or recyclable waste to be sent to landfill by 2026, and by 2030 65% of London’s municipal waste to be recycled.
To achieve this, London will look not just at how it deals with its waste, but at how products are designed and produced, how Londoners use them, and what happens to them after their original use has ended, the plan states.
“I’ve set out my plans to improve London’s environment by fighting pollution, tackling waste and promoting cleaner energy so we can make London a healthier city that adapts to the impacts of climate change”
This will begin with food waste and single-use packaging, it says, like coffee cups and plastic bottles, because these make up 30% of London’s municipal waste.
Anything that can’t be reused will be recycled wherever possible. When recycling is not an option, new technologies will be used to convert waste into renewable energy that will be used to heat and power homes – no new incineration capacity will be needed.
The Environment Plan is consulting on:
- setting minimum recycling and food waste standards for London’s waste authorities to meet by 2020
- establishing stronger rules to cut pollution from managing and disposing of waste in London
- helping cut food waste by 20% by 2025 including through new campaigns to make business and Londoners aware of how they can waste less food and recycle more
- working with business to prevent waste in the first place by designing out food waste and unnecessary packaging, including investigating deposit return or community water refill schemes
- promoting shared waste collection services to businesses and others to share waste collection services so there are fewer vans congesting and polluting London’s streets
- supporting new businesses that create jobs and help Londoners to reduce, reuse and recycle more
- ensuring there are sufficient sites to manage waste in London through the use of the Mayor’s planning powers.
Mr Khan said: “I’ve set out my plans to improve London’s environment by fighting pollution, tackling waste and promoting cleaner energy so we can make London a healthier city that adapts to the impacts of climate change.
“I want to hear your views and ideas about how we can make London the greenest city in the world.”