Is there an ideal way to manage London's waste?
It is now three years since the decision was taken by the then Secretary of State for the Environment David Miliband to reject the proposition from Mayor Ken Livingston that there should be a single waste authority for London.
The period since that decision has thus seen the formation of the London Waste Recycling Board (LWaRB) and the continuation of the patchwork of collection and disposal authorities covering the capital.
After a slow start, LWaRB has in recent months begun channelling funding to a variety of programmes and initiatives intended to improve waste management in London.
Wrap, for example, is being funded to deliver a London version of the national ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign; and monies are being focused on improving recycling rates in high rise dwellings (where recycling rates remain ~10%; and, since London has such a concentration of its population living in these kinds of buildings, this is a key reason why overall recycling rates in London remain low by national and, especially, European standards).
Elsewhere across the capital, different rates of progress are being made in different locations, as individual collection and disposal authorities renegotiate contracts, introduce new technologies, modify collection regimes and so on.
In many respects, it could be said that the combined effect of recycling targets (backed up by the threat of significant fines), the landfill tax escalator, the contribution of LWaRB and the interaction between London Boroughs, private sector enterprises and third sector organisations is delivering the kinds of changes that London's waste management requires.
As our first set of provocations indicate, however, the pattern and manner of waste collection in London is an historical accident. There is no reason to suppose that the current regime is in a sense ‘the best’; and there is no escaping the fact that the structure of waste management in London is as much a political solution as it is an economic or a social or an environmental solution.
A twenty first century waste management system that is built upon nineteenth century boundaries or twentieth century political assumptions seems at odds with the kinds of economic, social or environmental objectives this new century presents. Later this year, our second provocation, looking directly at governance issues, will look closely at the relationship between institutions and outcomes, and the kinds of capacities and capabilities that will needed - and by whom - to meet the challenges ahead.