Recycling and Sustainability: Our Commitment to a Greener Future
Our community's approach to recycling and sustainability balances ambitious targets with practical action. We have set a clear recycling percentage target of 65% household waste diverted by 2030, with staged milestones every two years to track progress. This target is supported by ongoing improvements to collection systems, education programmes, and investment in infrastructure. Across the boroughs, residents are encouraged to separate glass, paper, mixed plastics, and food waste at kerbside to improve material quality and reduce contamination.
To achieve these aims we work with a network of local transfer stations and material recovery facilities that act as hubs for consolidation and sorting. Local transfer stations such as the Northside Transfer Station and Riverside Sorting Hub help streamline logistics, lower vehicle miles, and increase the volume of materials that can be processed locally. The transfer stations are designed for efficient handoffs to contractors and ensure that recyclable streams stay in the circular economy rather than going to landfill.
In addition to kerbside collection, borough-wide initiatives include bulky item reuse schemes, textiles collection points, and dedicated e-waste days. Waste recycling efforts are strengthened by seasonal campaigns that promote composting of food waste and the correct rinsing and sorting of containers. We also pilot separate collections in denser neighbourhoods where shared communal bins make it easier for residents to participate in sustainable recycling behaviour.
Local Partnerships and Community Reuse
Partnerships with charities and community organisations form a key part of our strategy. We collaborate with local charity partners to divert usable items from the waste stream into reuse channels — from furniture and household goods to clothing and books. These relationships help extend product life, reduce demand for virgin materials, and create local employment and volunteering opportunities. Our charity partners operate reuse shops and redistribution programmes that accept items collected from bulky waste services and community drop-off points.
Strong alliances with food redistribution charities and community fridges reduce food waste across the boroughs. By routing surplus edible food from markets, supermarkets and catered events to local food banks and redistribution partners we can cut methane emissions and support vulnerable residents. Our reuse and donation partnerships also include repair cafés and skills workshops that teach residents how to fix items rather than discard them.
We support a range of material-specific initiatives that complement wider recycling activities:
- Glass and bottle banks at community sites to keep high-quality glass in the loop;
- Paper and cardboard collections prioritised in commercial and residential areas;
- Textiles and small electricals accepted at designated points for recycling or refurbishment.
Low-Carbon Fleet and Sustainable Operations
Transport is a major factor in waste operations, so we've introduced a fleet of low-carbon vans and collection vehicles to minimize emissions. Our transition plan includes replacing older diesel vehicles with a mix of electric vans and hybrid trucks, and introducing low-emission last-mile vehicles for dense urban routes. The goal is to have at least 60% of routine collection vehicles as low-carbon models by 2028, reducing greenhouse gases from waste logistics.
Operational measures extend beyond vehicles. At transfer stations we use energy-efficient lighting, solar panels where suitable, and on-site baling to reduce transport frequency. By combining smarter route planning with consolidated drop-off at regional hubs, we lower fuel use and improve collection efficiency. These measures support our broader aim of integrating circular economy principles into everyday services.
Achieving our recycling and sustainability ambitions requires collaboration across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Residents can play a vital role by embracing clearer separation at source, participating in reuse networks, and choosing repair over replacement when possible. Our long-term vision is a resilient, low-waste community where recycling, reuse and reduced consumption work together to meet and exceed our recycling percentage target — creating cleaner streets, thriving charities, and a healthier environment for future generations.
