Recycling and Sustainability: Our Local Commitment

Our community's recycling and sustainability page explains how we are accelerating efforts to reduce waste, increase reuse, and cut carbon emissions. We have set an ambitious recycling percentage target of 65% municipal diversion by 2030, aligning with wider regional plans for a circular economy. This target covers household recycling, commercial waste streams, and targeted initiatives for textiles and bulky items. The boroughs' approach to waste separation emphasizes clear kerbside rules: separate dry recyclables, food waste, and glass at the point of collection to maximize capture rates.

We believe the best sustainability plans combine practical services with public education. Our sustainable recycling programs focus on reducing contamination in blue bins, expanding food-scrap collection, and offering seasonal glass collection points. Reducing contamination ensures higher quality material for reprocessing and supports local recycling markets. Strong enforcement of separation guidelines, paired with outreach in multiple languages across the boroughs, improves participation and equity.

Local transfer stations form a core part of the network that moves materials from household collection to processing facilities. These transfer hubs are strategically located to shorten haul distances and reduce vehicle miles. At each station, materials are pre-sorted to remove non-recyclables and bulky contamination before onward transport. Efficient transfer operations help us meet our recycling target while lowering greenhouse gas emissions from waste logistics and ensuring that recyclable material reaches appropriate reprocessors rather than landfill.

Partnerships with charities and social enterprises expand the life of goods and support community needs. We work with local charities to collect clothing, books, and household items that can be reused rather than recycled, supporting circular-economy principles and creating jobs in reuse and refurbishment. Our reuse partners accept items from council drop-off points and dedicated collection campaigns, diverting significant tonnages from the waste stream and delivering social value alongside environmental benefits.

Low-carbon delivery and collection fleets

Our fleet strategy prioritizes low-emission vehicles: electric vans and low-carbon hybrid trucks are deployed for urban collections and charity uplift routes. These low-carbon vans cut local air pollution and reduce the carbon footprint associated with recycling collections. We are also piloting cargo bikes and micro-depots in denser neighborhoods to reduce reliance on larger trucks for short-distance journeys. This multimodal approach supports our sustainable recycling ambitions and helps us reach the recycling percentage target more cleanly.

To ensure operational resilience, we plan phased vehicle upgrades combined with renewable electricity procurement for charging infrastructure. Fleet telematics and route optimization software reduce empty running and idling, which further lowers emissions. Investing in clean transport protects public health while enabling higher-frequency collections that make recycling easier for residents.

Community-facing initiatives include targeted campaigns on waste separation rules that are tailored to each borough. Households receive clear, visual guidance on sorting paper and card, plastics and metals, glass, and food waste. We operate seasonal civic amenity days and permanent drop-off locations for hazardous household waste, electronic goods, and bulky items, reducing fly-tipping and ensuring safe processing.

Our partnerships extend to local businesses and property managers to increase commercial recycling rates and reduce mixed waste entering the residual stream. We offer business engagement programs and sponsor community repair cafes and swap events to promote reuse. By diverting more materials before they become waste, we reduce the need for energy-intensive recycling and improve the quality of materials entering recovery markets.

How you can take part

Every resident plays a role in delivering our recycling and sustainability goals. Simple actions—rinsing containers, flattening cardboard, and keeping food waste separate—make a measurable difference to diversion rates. Below are practical steps and services you can use to support the plan:

• Kerbside recycling: Follow local bin-day guidance and ensure materials are clean and dry.
• Food waste: Use the provided caddy for all food scraps; this stream supports anaerobic digestion and composting.
• Reuse and donations: Drop usable items at partner charity shops and reuse hubs.
• Local transfer stations: Use designated drop-off sites for bulky items and segregated glass collections.

We continuously monitor performance against our recycling percentage target and publish progress updates. Areas of focus include improving capture rates for textiles, expanding separate glass collections where appropriate, and increasing the throughput of organic waste to local composting and AD facilities. By combining infrastructure improvements, partnerships, and low-carbon logistics, we aim to make our recycling and sustainability program both ambitious and achievable.

Our long-term vision is a resilient, low-waste community that reuses as much as possible, recycles high-quality materials, and minimizes the climate impact of waste services. With coordinated borough action, strong charity partnerships, modern transfer stations, and the rollout of low-carbon vans, we can meet—and exceed—our sustainability commitments. Join us in making recycling a simple, effective part of everyday life.