You may notice the streets of London post-Christmas are suddenly flooded with a variety of waste that would suggest many people have upgraded almost all their household goods overnight. From old sofas, TVs, computers and as expected, Christmas trees, much of this waste is dumped without due care into normal household waste bins without any thought that they could be recycled. As one of the world’s most developed and progressive cities, it is still a wonder why London produces so much waste that ends up in landfill. While extensive recycling does occur throughout almost all of the local boroughs, there is an admission from many that more could be done. People often attribute low recycling rates to the difficulty of recycling, from confusion about what can be segregated, and to a lack of recycling areas, all of which are a sign that more can be done. Here are two of the main reasons proving that recycling in London really isn’t as difficult as it is made out to be.
Recycling services come to you
For your daily waste that can be recycled, local councils will often have collection services from your residence every one or two weeks. This is sufficient time for the average household to accumulate enough recyclables before needing to be collected. If you can’t wait that long, you’ll often find large recycling bins dotted around town, clearly marked as to what they are for.
Fly tipping can be a huge problem, often carried out after sales when people purchase new appliances and want to get rid of their old ones without paying, or rouge building contractors who dump their waste to avoid paying dumping fees. In London however, many of the local councils offer free collection services for large appliances to avoid them ending up on the streets as a safety hazard and eye-sore.
There are many recycling centres
There is a growing acknowledgement that the issue of waste needs to be improved. The amount of waste needs to be reduced and recycling rates need to improve, and there are a variety of solutions to this puzzle. A nationwide levy on plastic bags has all seen almost all free, single use plastic bags disappear from major supermarkets, and there are now a growing amount of recycling centres around the Capital especially. Many of these use Metso waste recycling technology to turn what would have previously only be considered for landfill, into waste material that could be used for fuel.
If you want to have a positive impact on the environment, make a conscious effort to reduce your waste, and whatever you have left, ensure makes its way into proper recycling channels such as these recycling centres. All of the standard recyclable materials you would expect to be taken will be accepted there, as well as electronics and construction waste that may have otherwise ended up in landfill with other general waste. By taking your waste to these centres, you can be certain that the utmost effort will be done to recycle as much of the waste as possible.