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Bin store provider metroSTOR has called for improved access to recycling bin stores in communal properties, echoing the objectives of Resource London’s Flats Recycling Project to improve accessibility and increase communications with residents.

Improving recycling rates in flats is a perennial challenge for local authorities, especially in cities where they comprise a high proportion of the housing stock, such as in London, where the recycling rate in some inner city estates is a mere 10.7 per cent, compared to a national average of 44 per cent.

With purpose-built flats making up 37 per cent of London’s residential accommodation, and with this figure expected to climb to 46 per cent by 2030, finding solutions to increasing recycling for this style of property is key to boosting rates in the capital.

Initiatives such as the Flats Recycling Project, led by Resource London and partnered with Peabody Housing Association and eight inner London Boroughs, have identified solutions such as providing more recycling facilities inaccessible locations with much clearer signage and enhanced communication with residents.

metroSTOR has welcomed recommendations made by the Flats Recycling Project and goes on to make its own calls for improvements, including: removing bin chutes to encourage reycling; making recycling bins accessible by placing them with 35 metres of front doors and within 10 metres of the kerbside; at least five metres away from housing to lower fire risks; the use of secure housing to prevent arson, fly-tipping and vermin problems; and clear signage and lighting to make bins as easy to use as possible.

metroSTOR is working with more than 150 local authorities and housing associations with products that boost recycling rates and eliminate cross-contamination, while also reducing fire risk, litter, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

You can find out more on the metroSTOR website.