North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is a statutory public authority, committed to serving over two million north London residents in Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.
Our main, statutory duties are to:
- Arrange the disposal of waste collected by the seven north London boroughs
- Transport and dispose of waste from north London's reuse and recycling centres
- Store and dispose of abandoned vehicles
We deliver a range of non-statutory programmes and services in addition to this:
Waste prevention
It is our aim to preserve resources and the environment today and for future generations. The current take-make-dispose model means that far too many things end up as waste – things which could have been reused, repaired or recycled, or things which weren’t made to last. Our waste is harming the planet, and we need systemic change to stop it.
To do our bit in the fight against climate change, for over a decade now we have been delivering an extensive programme of waste prevention activity, the Waste Prevention Plan. Working closely with our boroughs, we campaign for change, deliver behaviour change interventions and enable and educate our communities.
Recycling services
We provide additional efficiencies for our boroughs by handling their recycling, food and garden waste, once they’ve been collected. The current recycling contract is held by Biffa Waste Services. North London’s recycling goes to Biffa’s materials recycling facility (MRF) in Edmonton where it is mechanically sorted before being sold to be, ultimately, turned into something new.
North London has one of the most extensive recycling services in the country, but we are still keen to identify new recycling markets or more sustainable ways of handling the materials given to us. For instance, at our reuse and recycling centres, we have invested in innovative new ways to recycle items that would previously have gone to waste, such as mattresses, polystyrene and hard plastics. We also encourage reuse of materials through our ReUse Shop, paint reuse scheme and DIY materials exchange.
Planning for the future
We are committed to innovation and careful planning to ensure we manage waste resources effectively and sustainably. The North London Heat and Power Project is our ambitious plan to redevelop the Edmonton EcoPark, delivering a new sustainable waste hub and replacing the existing energy from waste plant with the greenest Energy Recovery Facility in the country.
The project has already delivered three flagship recycling facilities for north London’s residents: a resource recovery facility, reuse and recycling centre and an education and visitors’ centre. Read more about these facilities below.
Our facilities
NLWA owns three new facilities, developed as part of the North London Heat and Power Project. They are:
Our relationships
The seven north London boroughs collect north London’s waste and recycling. The waste goes to an energy-from-waste facility run by LondonEnergy Limited, a company that we wholly own. The recycling goes to a materials recycling facility (MRF) through our contract with Biffa Waste Services. The recycling is sorted at the MRF and then sold.
The infographic below explains these relationships in more detail.
- Councils collect rubbish and recycling and pay North London Waste Authority (NLWA) to deal with it.
- NLWA keeps costs low and gets the best deal for residents. Step 3 or Step 4
- NLWA manages contracts to sort recycling into different materials and sell it. Step 7
- NLWA owns a company called LondonEnergy Limited. LondonEnergy disposes of the rubbish and manages recycling centres.
- NLWA’s publicly-owned energy from waste facility burns rubbish to generate electricity. This is better than sending it to landfill.
- Electricity is sold to the National Grid. The funds generated go directly back to NLWA to provide service for residents.
- The funds generated go directly back to NLWA to provide service for residents.