Overview
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is the statutory Waste Disposal Authority for Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, and Waltham Forest, managing the waste and recycling of around 2 million residents in 847,000 households. NLWA has a legal duty to treat, manage and dispose of waste collected by the borough councils from residents, and is therefore responsible for the recycling, composting, and disposal of this waste. Waste disposal authorities, including NLWA, also have the legal duty to provide places "at which persons resident in its area may deposit their household waste" and to ensure that these places are "situated either within the area of the authority or so as to be reasonably accessible to persons resident in its area." In north London, these places are referred to as Reuse and Recycling Centres (RRCs).
NLWA and the seven north London boroughs aim to deliver high-quality reuse, recycling, and disposal services. These services support residents to live more sustainably, at the lowest possible cost. For a long period of time, RRCs were the only option for residents to dispose of and recycle a number of material types and large amounts of waste. Since then, services have evolved, and in recent years the services available to residents have increased and improved significantly. This includes collections for a wider range of materials from the doorstep and alternative places to drop-off certain types of waste. Our reuse and recycling centres now accept a wider range of materials than ever before, and in July 2024 we opened a modern and fully equipped Reuse and Recycling Centre in Edmonton to offer an additional point of service for all north London residents. This brought the total number of RRCs in north London to nine, meaning that north London is provided with significantly more sites than other comparable areas.
At the same time, NLWA and our boroughs are also being increasingly strained financially, as a result of reduced government funding and an increase in demand for some services. To manage these pressures, the NLWA needs to continually review the services we provide to ensure they meet the needs of residents at an affordable price.
Gateway Road Reuse and Recycling Centre in Waltham Forest is operated on behalf of NLWA by a private company called Bywaters Limited, which also owns the land where the site is. Discussions have been held with Bywaters on the costs of continuing the service in future, and these are likely to increase by over 115% compared to 2022/23.
Continuing to maintain the site at a significantly increased cost does not represent the best value for money for residents. Because of this, it is proposed that Gateway Road Reuse and Recycling Centre should be closed.
We want to hear your views on this proposal, to understand the impact it would have on your ability to reuse, recycle, and dispose of your waste.