Every year, we manage around 200,000 tonnes of recyclable material from household collections, businesses, our Reuse and Recycling Centres, and fly-tipping.
Maximising Recycling
Waste has a significant impact on the environment both locally and globally. Currently, less than half of the 7million tonnes of waste that London’s households and businesses produce every year is recycled.
As part of our continued commitment we diverted as much waste material from landfill as possible by separating items suitable for recycling from the waste stream. We want the future of London the be clean and protect the health of the community.
The recyclable mixed dry recycling that we receive includes cans, paper, plastic, and glass. They are processed and sorted in our picking station in Wembley before being sent to a third-party materials recycling facility based in the UK. The materials are then sent on to reprocessors who recycle them into something new.
Our team that manages bulky waste generated from fly tipping is also doing its best to recycle materials. They separate green waste, wood and metal from general waste and send it to be recycled.
Recycling new materials
Our Recycling Centres already accept over X types of materials for recycling. (link to full list) but we believe we can do even more.
This is why we are partnering with UK based specialists to offer new recycling opportunities to the residents of North London.
Recycling Mattresses
In July 2021, we launched a trial to recycle worn-out mattresses. In just two months, 13,600 mattresses – approximately 400 tonnes of waste - were recycled.
Mattresses taken by residents to our Reuse and Recycling Centres are extracted from the general waste. Once separated into component materials, 90% are recycled, with the remaining unrecyclable parts used to generate electricity for the National Grid.
Fly tipped mattresses, and those collected via council ‘bulky waste’ household services are also recycled.
Recycling Coffee Cups
Did you know that we use 7 million disposable coffee cups in the UK every day? That’s 2.5 billion every year, of which only 1% are recycled.
That’s why LondonEnergy has partnered with several North London Councils as part of our #MochaDifference campaign. By installing dedicated coffee cup recycling points in Town Halls, we capture more cups for recycling and prevent them from ending up in the general waste where they are lost forever. All the coffee cups collected are fully recycled, and the recovered fibre is used to manufacture new products.