Request for information on recycling of commercial waste

Nature of Request
Recycling
Case id
2022-165

Request

Date received

hello there, i am writing to enquire about the way in which you dispose of the commercial waste that is picked up from our property. are you able to give me an indication of where it goes, how much of it is recycled and a break down of where it all ends up ? (eg. recycling, landfill etc.) many thanks in advance for the info and your assistance.

Response

Response date

Thank you for your request for information about disposal of commercial waste, received on 7 January 2022, and apologies for the delay in responding. Your request has been allocated the reference number 2022-165 and is being handled under the Environmental Information Regulations (EiR) 2004.

The table below shows a representative breakdown of destinations for recycled waste, which accounts for approximately 27% of waste collected by the seven north London boroughs. It also includes data from a baseline date of March 2020 and our targets for 2023 and 2030 to show the current targets towards recycling waste in the UK rather than abroad.

Material March 2020: UK March 2020: Europe March 2020: Far East Q2 Average 21/22: UK Q2 Average 21/22: Europe Q2 Average 21/22: Far East Q3 Average 21/22: UK  Q3 Average 21/22: Europe Q3 Average 21/22: Far East 2023 Target: UK 2023 Target: Europe 2023 Target: Far East 2030 Target: UK
Cardboard     100% 7% 55% 38%   90% 10% 10% 50% 40% 100%
Mixed Paper 43% 19% 38% 58% 42%   34% 66%   70% 30%   100%
Glass 68% 32%               100%     100%
Aluminium Cans 100%     100%     100%     100%     100%
Steel Cans 100%     100%     100%     100%     100%
Plastic Bottles 100%     100%     100%     100%     100%
Other Plastics 100%     100%     100%     100%     100%



The table below shows a breakdown of how residual waste (black bag waste) was disposed of in 2020 as a representative sample. This accounts for approximately 73% of waste collected by the seven north London boroughs. Waste volumes are given in tonnes. Please note that the time periods given begin in April, so Q1 is April to June, Q2 is June to August, etc.

Residual Disposal Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020
Incineration with Energy Recovery 137,810 125,977 141,034 131,465
Residual Recycling 523 572 642 569
Non Haz Landfill 3,003 16,515 4,589 1,317
High Temperature Incineration 2 2 2 2
Refuse Derived Fuel 0 1,819 0 0
Total Residual Disposal 141,338 144,885 146,267 133,359



If you have any queries about this request, please don’t hesitate to contact me.