The locations where your waste or recycling goes
Some waste types can’t be disposed of using one of our standard waste and recycling collection services and need specialist treatment.
When waste and recycling is collected it’s never usually clear what happens to it after that point. Collecting waste and recycling is only the first part of the journey that it has to go on to finally be recycled.
We are proud to be fully transparent with our customers, which includes openly showing you where your waste actually goes once it’s collected. We dedicate time and effort into ensuring we are choosing the best facility to send materials to, both in terms of the location of the facility and the standard of recycling that it offers.
If you want to visit the facilities that treat and recycle your waste yourself then please contact us for a site visit. We are always happy to arrange these.
Where does the waste that Westminster City Council Commercial Waste Services go?
Unlike other waste collectors who export waste, or travel across the country to dispose of it, almost all of the waste that we collect is disposed of in a facility local to Westminster. This means that as well as not having to travel into London to collect waste since we are already based in Westminster, we rarely have to travel out of London to dispose of the waste and recycling that we collect.
Our waste management fleet uses low emission vehicles and is, therefore, less polluting to our environment. In addition to this, the number of miles that our vehicles drive on the road is reduced by using local facilities to dispose of the materials that we collect, which, in effect helps to minimise harmful emissions.
The Mayor of Londons Environment Strategy:
By managing our waste locally, we are able to meet 2 of the main waste objectives in the Mayor’s strategy:
- Reducing Associated Emissions
- Managing London’s waste within London
The ultimate guide to real recycling for businesses in Westminster
Discover how your business can recycle more and have less environmental impact
Find out exactly where each of the waste streams that we collect ends up
Waste Type - Bulky Waste
Veolia Southwark
The bulky waste that we collect is sent to Veolia's local material recovery facility in Southwark. Here, the materials can be sorted for repurposing.
Waste Type - Food Waste
Biogen Anaerobic Digestion Facility
Bedford Rd, Rushden NN10 0SQ, UK
The food waste that we collect is sent to Biogen's anaerobic digestion facility in Northamptonshire. This facility alone processes 65,000 tonnes of food waste per year generating 2.9MW of green electricity, enough to power approx 6,500 homes.
Waste Type - General Waste
South East London Combined Heat & Power
No waste collected by us is sent to landfill. The general waste that we collect is sent to SELCHP in South East London. This energy recovery facility uses state of the art technology to turn general waste into renewable energy in the form of electricity and district heating. Every bag of general waste generates enough hot water for 7 showers or nearly 24 hours of watching TV.
Waste Type - Glass
United Resource Management (URM Group)
The segregated glass waste that we collect is sent to URM Group - Tilbury. At the URM facility, the glass is washed using high end equipment to remove any stains or degrees of contaminating material. This glass can then be recycling in their reprocessing facilities.
Waste Type - Large Appliances
EMR Local
Scrubs Ln, London NW10 6QY, UK
The large appliances that we collect go to a local scrap metal recycling facility, EMR Willesden. Here they are recycled and can be used for new products.
Waste Type - Mixed Recycling
Southwark Integrated Waste Management Facility (Veolia)
The mixed recycling that we collect needs to be thoroughly sorted before it can be recycled into new products. Veolia's Materials Recovery Facility is one of the most advanced recycling facilities in Europe.
Waste Type - Paper & Cardboard
DS Smith - Kemsley Paper Mill
Kemsley Paper Mill, Kemsley Mill, Kemsley, Sittingbourne ME10 2TD, UK
All of the segregated paper and cardboard that we collect is taken to DS Smith’s Kemsley Paper mill where it is turned into new packaging material. DS Smith specialises in closed-loop recycling solutions meaning that cardboard can be back on the shop shelf within 14 days.