Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

The Network Recycling Study
2.46 The following table provides a summary of the amount of refuse collected by RBKC 61 over the
past five Carnivals:
Table 7: Refuse collected at Carnival 1999-2003
Year Refuse
(Tonnes)
1999 211
2000 250
2001 210
2002 168
2003 192
2.47 The figures show that despite a decline in visitor numbers in 2003, the amount of refuse
collected increased. The local authorities have acknowledged that 2003 refuse collection
figures for Westminster – 215 tonnes – has highlighted the possibility that there is a
discrepancy in the way in which ‘Carnival refuse’ is being defined and that further work is
required in order to provide more comparable data and a more accurate picture in future.
2.48 In partnership with WCC, the GLA commissioned a study 62 of the Carnival in 2000 in order to
explore the possibilities for reducing the environmental impact of solid wastes. The study
found that the presentation and composition of waste at the Carnival did present
opportunities to develop innovative and creative solutions to one of the hardest challenges of
municipal waste management – combining litter control with recycling. Network Recycling,
the organisation appointed to carry out the study, identified clear emerging patterns in the
Carnival’s litter profile. Whilst recognising that litter migrates from its source to the point of
disposal, the report found four distinct types of Carnival waste:
• street litter - produced mainly along the Carnival route.
• food service disposables litter - occurring predominantly in the vicinity of food traders.
• venue litter - occurring in turfed arenas.
• traders’ waste - generated during food preparation.
2.49 Although the Carnival’s litter contained a high proportion of recyclables, the study found that
many of the techniques that would normally be employed to recycle a similar mix of litter from
any outdoor event would not be appropriate for the bulk of litter at the Carnival. The
development of the following operational systems was therefore proposed:
61
‘The Environmental Impacts of the Notting Hill Carnival 2003’, Report by the Director of Waste Management and Leisure, RBKC.
Submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Environmental Services, Environmental Health and Planning Policy (04
November 2003) and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Community Partnerships and Economic Development (05 November
2003).
62
‘Notting Hill Carnival: A review of opportunities for waste minimisation and recycling at the Notting Hill Carnival’, Network Recycling
(2000)
93