London Mayor Proposes Recycling Plan

The mayor of London has proposed building more than 200 recycling facilities in the United Kingdom’s largest city with a goal of recycling 45 percent of the city’s municipal solid waste stream and 70 percent of the commercial waste stream.

According to a report on the letsrecycle.com Web site, Mayor Ken Livingstone has modified an existing plan to meet those ambitious goals as well as to consolidate activity “under the umbrella of a single waste authority for London.”

The mayor is proposing the plan’s modification as a way to decrease the amount of material heading to landfills as well as to create jobs and provide London’s economy with a “green” boost by supporting collecting, sorting and consuming industries.

According to letsrecycle.com, the proposals are being considered by local legislators, and feedback will also be sought by residents and business owners and managers.

Four separate waste disposal authorities and 12 additional neighborhood groups currently govern waste collection for the city’s 7.35 million people. The mayor’s office calculates that currently just 13 percent of London’s MSW stream is recycled.