Residents pledge to hugely reduce landfill rubbish removal in London

London is implementing a series of measures aimed at reducing the quantity of waste produced by its residents by driving resource efficiency and optimizing recycling levels.

The city’s goal is to reduce the negative impact of waste activities on the environment and maximize London’s infrastructure for managing waste. Also, by adhering to the Advancing Towards Zero Waste Declaration, the city’s residents pledge to reduce landfill rubbish in London and contribute to a global movement to create prosperous and sustainable zero-waste cities.

About the London Environment Strategy

The London Environment Strategy engages local authorities to develop special Reduction and Recycling Plans by 2020 to decrease the quantities of waste from local households and businesses. Also, the City has implemented new Emission Performance Standards (EPS) for greenhouse gases resulting from waste management.

To promote waste reduction, improve rubbish removal in London and increase recycling rates, the City is creating new waste management facilities. Also, local authorities are helping companies such as Clearbee to offer cost-effective waste collection and recycling services. And, to decrease the quantity of single-use plastic bottles in London, the City is improving access to free consumable water. In an effort to inspire a biodiesel revolution, and reduce CO2 emissions, London is turning all cooking oil, fats oils and greases, or FOGs, into fuel for its buses and vehicles fleet.

On the C40 Membership

London has joined the C40 community, which is a network of main cities from around the world, to address the negative impact of rubbish on the environment. Through the Advancing Towards Zero Waste Declaration, London is committed to cut the quantity of waste generated by 15%, to strengthen partnerships with specialist companies such as Clearbee to decrease the quantity of waste sent to landfills, and improve the waste diversion rate to 70% by end of 2030. With its partner cities such as Paris, Milan, New York, and San Francisco, London is accelerating the change to a zero-waste city and it’s actively supporting the global disposing of about 87 million tons of rubbish by 2030.

And, because the production of waste is the quickest growing pollutant, taking action to reduce rubbish removal in London will have the strongest positive impact on the environment.

As part of the Declaration, with the support of local clearance companies such as Clearabee, London will implement actions to reduce rubbish removal in London by lowering food loss and waste generated by food producers, retailers and consumers, increasing the recycling of food waste to improve the quality of soils, and banning single-use plastics and non-recyclable materials while educating residents in terms of sustainability and recycling programs.

Since the beginning of his mandate, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has proven great ambitions and has undertaken a series of programs to keep rubbish removal in London under control. He aims to transform the City into a zero-waste capital.

Clearabee – a Revolutionary Approach to Rubbish Removal

As a leader in the waste management industry, Clearabee provides fully integrated rubbish removal and recycling services throughout the UK.

Thanks to their flexible approach to rubbish removal, you can sustainably dispose of any small or large quantity of rubbish at any time. You’ll also enjoy a wide range of rubbish removal options such as skip hire, skip bags or furniture removal services.

And because the company diverts more than 95% of the collected rubbish away from being sent to landfills and offsets their vehicles’ CO2 emissions by 150%, whenever you book a clearance with Clearabee, you’ll contribute to protecting the environment.

The last straw: how businesses should think about plastic

It’s tough to be plastic these days – and rightfully so. It would seem the days of thoughtless consumerism around plastic is over, with a keen focus on changed attitudes as awareness grows.

That said, of the over 5 million tonnes of plastic waste produced in UK each year, only around a quarter of it is recycled. It’s well-known, but it bears repeating: our consumption of plastic is unsustainable. Within the business environment, the following are some key considerations around plastic recycling in the workplace.

THINK ABOUT (AND ACT FOR) THE ENVIRONMENT

• Environmental concerns around plastics arise long before they end up in the ocean. The manufacture of plastics also has environmental consequences. Plastics are a chemical bond of oil and gas and this process is energy- and resource-intensive.
• Plastic infamously takes a very long time to break down. In landfill, combined with other waste forms, toxic leachate from plastics are released into the ground, often ending up in our water systems. These are damaging to human health, wildlife, and eco-systems. Large volumes of plastic also end up in streams, rivers, and the ocean. This is extremely harmful to marine wildlife and eco-systems.
• We need a healthy environment for our own health. The contamination of our water sources and the food we consume from the oceans has potentially dire health effects.

GOVERNMENT’S AIMS

• A target of 50% of the UK’s plastic to be recycled by 2020
• Three quarters of the UK’s plastic to be recycled by 2035
• In addition to single-use plastic regulations, the Government is proposing a number of regulations around plastic usage. One of the main areas affecting businesses is packaging. Government aims to tax plastic packaging which is made from less than 30% recycled material and impose a ban on plastic packaging where another material could be used in its place.

HOW TO REDUCE YOUR PLASTIC WASTE TIPS

• Be mindful of how you and your business consume plastics. Are alternatives available? If so, use them.
• Re-use your plastics wherever possible. Be conscientious around packaging and try to innovate around ways to use your plastics elsewhere.
• Make waste management a part of your business strategy. Recycling culture has myriad benefits for businesses – including potential cost savings and an enhanced reputation for responsible business.
• Recycle responsibly. This means avoiding contamination wherever possible. Educate your employees on what goes into which bin, cleaning, and readying your bins for recycling.

PLASTIC RECYCLING QUICK FACTS

• What plastic can be recycled?Every plastic can be recycled. It’s just that some are more costly and complicated to recycle. Your plastic water bottle? This is one of the most commonly recycled forms of plastic. The least recycled plastic? Polystyrene.
• What is dry mix recycling?Recycling creates new products and components from old products. Dry mix recycling takes uncontaminated plastic items (and other products like glass, aluminium cans, cardboard, and paper) and gives it new life, reducing its impact and the resources associated with creating new products.
• Single-stream recycling.A time- and cost-effective recycling solution for many businesses, single-stream recycling removes the need for bin system and assumes the responsibility for cleaning and sorting waste on your business’s behalf.

DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE AN EFFECTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY?

For many businesses, waste management is a question of cost – and understandably so. It makes sound business sense to shop the market for the best rates on everyday business services. However, every business stands to benefit from the advice of waste specialists. This allows for waste management solutions tailored to every business’s unique set of requirements and circumstances. This is the aim of the team at Smarter Business. Click here to find out more about their waste management and other utility and business services.