Draft Business Waste Strategy PDF - london.gov.uk - Greater ...

Making waste work in London The Mayor’s Draft Business Waste Management Strategy Mayor of London 49
3D Facilitating the development
of collection services
The collection conundrum
3.68 The collection of business waste for recycling or treatment is complicated
by two issues:
■ service providers are found in the public, private and third sectors and
each sector has very different reasons for collecting, or not collecting,
business waste
■ waste producers have differing motivations for reconsidering their
current arrangements and looking for more sustainable options.
It is small businesses that are a particular concern with regards
effectively changing waste behaviour. Medium and large businesses
are more likely to be motivated by economic drivers to put in place
waste reduction and recycling systems since they generally produce
larger volumes of waste.
3.69 Currently, around one million tonnes of business waste (largely from the
commercial sector) is collected and managed by London’s boroughs. The
remaining 13.8 million tonnes of business waste is managed by the private
sector. Therefore, although local authorities play a key role, particularly for
small businesses, they will never dominate the business waste service market.
3.70 Local authorities’ roles are complicated by:
■ the private sector, which is likely to cherry pick businesses that produce
more waste, leaving local authorities with a less profitable portfolio
■ the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS), which acts as a
disincentive for local authorities to undertake a role in providing
business waste and recycling services and may make local authority
services uncompetitive
■ geographical limitations, which is a hindrance for companies with
sites across a number of boroughs. Instead they will seek a contract
with a waste management company that can operate across
borough boundaries.
3.71 These factors mean that businesses cannot rely on their local authority for
a waste or recycling service. In London, a recent survey reported that
27 of the 33 London boroughs provide trade waste services and 15
offer a trade waste recycling service 106 .
3.72 Small businesses, particularly, look to their local authority to manage their
waste. In a survey conducted for the London Assembly, 42 per cent of
businesses claimed they do not recycle because there were no services