PILOT DOOR-TO-DOOR ESTATE RECYCLING SERVICES IN INNER-CITY LONDON

The implementation of the EU Landfill Directive in the UK demands high rates of recycling by local councils and regional waste authorities. Currently recycling is either carried out at cost intensive materials recycling facilities (MRF) or through separate collection services. Collection of separate materials is undertaken in inner-city boroughs of London mainly through bring-banks, which are often severely contaminated, and by kerbside collections from street properties. However, the provision of door-to-door collections in inner-city estates has not been widely used yet, because of the lack of data to assess the potential and costs of such recycling services. In this paper a detailed assessment of a pilot door-to-door recycling service is presented. This pilot was carried out for a year by a local not-for-profit company in two inner-city estates in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH).