Forum topic: Talking trash: What do residents think about more and better recycling?

A new survey of north London residents, launched this week, is asking us about how waste is collected from our homes, how well we think the current system works, our ideas for improvements, and what changes we would find acceptable if they meant that more of the items we no longer need could be recycled instead of being burnt.

Let's Talk Rubbish - the North London Zero Waste Survey is being carried out both online and also door-to-door, to ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute. It's being organised by a group of people from the seven boroughs whose waste is sent to be burnt in the Edmonton Incinerator. These are Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.

The seven boroughs have all failed dismally in meeting targets for increasing the proportion of household waste that is recycled. Currently far too much - around 70 per cent - is burnt in the incinerator. But, scandalously, something like 80 per cent of the materials that are burnt are potentially recyclable.

Haringey resident Sydney Charles, one of the organisers of the survey, is unhappy about the attitude of the seven councils:

"Our councils only see a future where we keep burning more and more rubbish, so we launched this survey to ask if people in north London would prefer to rapidly improve kerbside recycling, sort valuable recyclables from kerbside rubbish and cut down on burning."

The survey results will be collected before the council elections on 5th May and provide a public mandate for the next generation of councillors, including the councillors sitting on the board of the North London Waste Authority (NLWA).

The campaign has been prompted by the recent conclusion of a contract for construction of a new and larger incinerator in Edmonton. The board of the NLWA turned a deaf ear to strong arguments that building the new plant is a seriously misguided decision, for environmental, economic and other reasons.

Dr Rembrandt Koppelaar, a resident of Hackney, comments: "Our councils are planning with this new incinerator to continue burning the majority of our rubbish for the next 30 years, despite the possibilities of collection service improvements and recycling technology to turn most of our rubbish into recycled materials."

Part of the NLWA's remit is to encourage recycling. In response to criticism from campaigners about its failure to do so effectively, the waste authority has repeatedly asked the campaigners for ideas. Vicki Pite, a former Labour councillor from Enfield, explains that the survey is an answer to this request: "We are responding by not only proposing what can be done, we are also asking residents what solutions they would welcome, to make sure people’s voices are being heard across north London".