‘What happens to our recycling? Where does it go?’

• MANY residents and businesses in Westminster are keen to recycle as much of their waste as possible.

Approximately 30,000 tonnes of material is collected from households and businesses for recycling and composting every year in the borough.

Often I get asked “what happens to our recycling? Where does it go?”

Everything from your clear recycling bags, doorstep recycling box, or communal mixed recycling bin. is collected and taken to a recovery facility in Southwark.

There, the recycling trucks tip the mixed recycling onto the floor for a visual inspection by site staff. If they spot the wrong thing in the recycling, such as food or polystyrene, the recycling may be sent for incineration an energy-from-waste plant in south London instead.

The recycling is then loaded into the “bag splicer” which splits the clear disposable recycling bags, so the contents can be recycled. The separated materials are then baled and ready for distribution to recyclers.

All food waste which is collected separately is sent for processing in a plant in Hertfordshire, where it is used to produce biogas (which in turn is used to generate electricity and heat) and biofertiliser, which is used on local farm land.

Small domestic appliances are taken to a plant in Sittingbourne, Kent. Paper and cardboard is typically sent to Kent to be recycled for news print and cardboard packaging.

Glass bottles and jars are sent to Yorkshire to be turned into new glass bottles, jars and road surfacing.

Steel cans are sent to Wales to be reused for car parts and girders Aluminium cans are recycled in Cheshire as new drinks cans. Plastic is sent to Dagenham where it becomes new plastic bottles, piping, fleece.

We want to increase Westminster’s recycling rate over the coming months and years. It is one of the ways we can all contribute to addressing the climate emergency, the biggest challenge we face.

CLLR PAUL DIMOLDENBERG
Cabinet Member for City Management & Air Quality
City Hall, Victoria Street, SW1