The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and London Councils yesterday (2 October) announced the members of the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) as it enters its second year term.

The eight-member board will be chaired by the Mayor of London’s representative, Richard Tracey, London Assembly Member and former Environment Minister, and will make decisions relating to London’s waste infrastructure management and future investments.

Matthew Pencharz, the mayor’s newly appointed Environment Advisor, has been designated as the mayor’s independent representative. The independent representative exercises the voting right as prescribed by the written voting instructions.

Pencharz has previously worked on recycling schemes in his role at the London Borough of Barnet and had worked on environment and energy stories for BBC One’s Politics Show.

London Councils, the think tank promoting the interests of London’s 33 councils, has appointed the remaining six members, made up of four borough representatives and two independent representatives.

Announcing the new board members yesterday, Boris Johnson, said: “I am delighted to confirm LWARB's latest board members as it embarks on its second term. These individuals bring a wealth of experience to enable the use of public money to the maximum benefit of Londoners.

“LWARB plays a central role in my goal to bring more investment into green infrastructure into the capital. This is supporting jobs and growth whilst also providing long-term solutions to improve recycling rates to avoid costly landfill bills. In addition, LWARB is working with councils to bring about efficiency savings helping them get more bang for their buck in testing financial times and to keep council bills as low as possible.”

The full board sits:

Appointed by the Mayor:

• Richard Tracey AM (Chairman)
• Matthew Pencharz (Independent representative)

Appointed by London Councils:

• Councillor David Williams (second term) – Was Chairman of the LWARB Audit Committee in his first term. He has served as a councillor for two periods in Merton; representing Hillside Ward since 1990 and is currently mayor for the year 2012/13.
• Councillor Clyde Loakes (second term) – Acting Chair of the North London Waste Authority, Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association’s Environment Board and Environment Portfolio Holder in Waltham Forest, where he is a councillor for the Leytonstone Ward.
• Councillor Bassam Mahfouz – Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport and Labour Councillor for the North West End ward in the London Borough of Ealing since 2005.
• Councillor Nicholas Paget-Brown – Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Leisure in the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Independent representatives appointed by London Councils:

• Melville Haggard – Project Financier and Adviser to industry and HM Government.
• Barbara Anderson – commercial board director and chair with experience in building, environmental technology and retail.

Chair of London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee, Councillor Catherine West, said: "London Councils has appointed these six members to the board to help make London a greener and cleaner city.

"We want to reduce the amount of rubbish which goes into landfill, boost recycling services in the capital and create jobs and training opportunities for Londoners. The members will also be tasked with looking at ways of making savings while maintaining high quality waste services."

The London Waste and Recycling Board was set up in 2008 as a way to bring together all of London's waste stakeholders. Its annual budget comes from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in order to improve waste management in the capital.

The board is due to hold its first meeting on 8 November at London’s City Hall.