What happens to waste we collect?

Householders and municipal services in the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) area currently produce almost 600,000 tonnes of waste for disposal. We also collect over 220,000 tonnes of recyclables, which are then sent on to be made into new products. 

Our six Reuse and Recycling Centers offer all north London residents a wide range of recycling opportunities from garden waste to mattresses. Find out which materials can be recycled and how here.

NLWA's goal is to reduce, reuse and recycle as much waste as possible. Our responsibility is to ensure everything else is disposed of in the safest way possible, reducing the environmental impact and obtaining the most value possible from the waste. 

Currently, residual waste is sent to an energy from waste facility at the Edmonton EcoPark, which ensures very little waste is sent to landfill and generates energy to power homes and businesses in north London.

The EcoPark has diverted 21 million tonnes of your rubbish from landfill since 1971. It has served north London very well, but now the facility needs updating to make sure we can keep treating north London’s rubbish for another 50 years, stop it from being buried in the ground, and recover more energy from our waste.

To help tackle the climate emergency and to prevent rubbish going to landfill we are redeveloping the EcoPark and building the greenest Energy Recovery Facility in the country, as well as modern recycling facilities.