Recycling Rates Down in Ealing Borough
Councillor says bringing service in-house has been a failure
Local councillor Andrew Steed says fall in Ealing's recycling rate is disappointing
New figures show that recycling in Ealing Borough has fallen since the service was brought in-house.
Last year the council ended its contract with Amey and set up a company called Greener Ealing (GEL) to be responsible for waste, recycling, street cleaning and grounds maintenance.
The Liberal Democrats on the council said that initially Greener Ealing (GEL) seemed to be performing well, and there was general relief that Amey had been replaced last July. The new arrangement meant that council officers would have greater control over the performance of the various services, greater flexibility was promised.
However, the councillors are now disappointed with the outcome. Southfield ward representative Andrew Steed said, “After six months the results are in, and they are not good: one of the key targets was recycling rates, and here Ealing is going backwards, from a peak rate of over 51% in 2017/18, to 50% now, despite a target of 53%. Here in Southfield, there have been 217 missed collections in the past six months, the highest across the whole of Ealing's 23 wards. Greener Ealing isn't working.”
He added, “Ealing Council should be encouraging more people to recycle. Unsurprisingly these figures coincide with an upturn in residents contacting myself and council colleagues about litter spills and repeated missed collections. From conversations with Council officers, it is clear there is concern about the current trend in the performance.”
There are further concerns that recycling rates in the borough may set to decline further with the planned closure of the Stirling Road Recycling Centre in South Acton. No date has been given for the closure but unconfirmed local reports are suggesting it will shut this October.
Ealing Council spokesperson said, “The recycling rate in Ealing remains amongst the highest in London at over 50%, having increased from 45% in 2015. Targets have been set in line with sub regional and national aspirations, linked to measures aimed at addressing the climate emergency. It is disappointing that there hasn’t been the further improvement hoped for but this reflects the challenges experienced across London, where for several reasons recycling performance has largely stagnated.
“In 2020, the council’s cabinet and the GLA approved the Council’s Recycling and Reduction Plan which includes a number of measures that will result in the minimisation of waste and increased recycling in Ealing over the coming years. This includes, but is not limited to, resident participation and awareness initiatives, the provision of food recycling collections to 20,000 flats across the borough and the offer of commercial waste recycling service to all businesses.”
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April 8, 2021