Today (5 July), environmental charity Hubbub and Lambeth Council have introduced a new initiative – ‘Lambeth #InTheLoop’ – in an effort to improve recycling rates and encourage recycling on-the-go.
Across Waterloo, Brixton, Clapham, Streatham and West Norwood, 80 new bins – consisting of 40 pairs of recycling and rubbish bins – will be positioned strategically, fitted with solar-powered smart sensors to detect fullness, compressing waste so that more can be captured.
The bins also feature a ‘bright design and clear messaging’, in an effort to reduce contamination. This is a central focus of the initiative, with recent analysis of current on-street bins showing that 74 per cent of coffee cups incorrectly end up in recycling bins. Although made from cardboard, coffee cups are lined with plastic, and the difficulty in separating the two materials means they cannot be recycled in this way.
For this reason, Hubbub has also announced a trial of cup recycling bins in Brixton – it will allow for coffee cups to be recycled correctly, through separate collections. However, in the borough’s other town centres, coffee cups should be disposed of in the rubbish bins or given to new ‘mobile recycling points’ – street sweeper barrows that have been rebranded by Hubbub and are operated by the council’s waste contractor, Serco.
If there is no recycling bin nearby, Hubbub says, anyone passing a street cleansing operative can give them their empty glass, plastic bottles, cans and coffee cups to be recycled.
To further keep contamination to a minimum, the initiative will also ask residents to put items such as food waste and crisp packets in the general waste section of the bin, ensure packaging is empty recycling, and think: “if in doubt, leave it out”.
‘Lambeth #InTheLoop’ follows a recent study conducted by Lambeth Council and Hubbub, which found that ‘only six in ten plastic bottles, glass or cans ended up in the borough’s recycling bins’.
It also follows the success of previous pilots in Swansea, Edinburgh, Dublin, Wimbledon and Telford. Across these projects, over 2.1 million plastic and glass bottles and cans were collected and recycled.
The initiative is funded by the Council with additional financial support from Bunzl, Coca-Cola GB, Costa, Danone, Ecosurety, Highland Spring Group, Innocent, Nestle, Subway and Starbucks.
Moving forward, Lambeth Council states that it will be working alongside Hubbub to measure the impact and effectiveness of the new bins. The results and learnings from the project will hopefully contribute to the ‘development of a blueprint for other local authorities to benefit from’.
Gavin Ellis, co-founder of Hubbub, said: “We’re really excited to bring #InTheLoop to Lambeth. As the trend of on-the go consumption is set to continue, we want to give residents, workers and visitors a better and easier opportunity to recycle while out and about.
“Being able to trial these new eye-catching bins in areas with high footfall such as Waterloo, Brixton, Vauxhall, Clapham, Streatham and West Norwood will greatly enable us to measure the effectiveness of the bins. We’re urging everyone to use the new bins and help us ensure that as much valuable packaging is recycled as possible.”
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, added: “These new smart bins give us all more opportunities to recycle our rubbish when we’re out and about in the borough. We all want to do our bit when it comes to being environmentally friendly, and this is another way to easily contribute. Using these new bins will also help keep our streets cleaner.
“In Lambeth the number of local people that are recycling at home has gone up over the last year, with the borough becoming the best in inner London. Let’s all try and match that by using these new bins to recycle more when we’re out of the house.”
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.