Household rubbish accounts for 25 per cent of London’s waste and so this draft strategy presents the Mayor’s plans for managing the other 75 per cent of London’s rubbish, from businesses.

‘Making waste work in London: The Mayor’s Draft Business Waste Management Strategy‘ has been published for consultation with the London Assembly and functional bodies of the Greater London Authority. The draft strategy shows that by managing waste sustainably, London’s businesses and waste sector can play a key role in reducing London’s carbon footprint.

The draft strategy (pdf) seeks to enable businesses to recycle more by developing services that they want to use and demonstrates that sustainable waste management and using resources more productively can be economically beneficial. Case studies have been included to illustrate ways in which some businesses have already implemented and profited from sustainable resource management and to demonstrate the business case for improved environmental performance.

The strategy includes targets for London’s businesses to reuse, recycle and compost at least 70 per cent of rubbish by 2020 and achieve recycling and reuse levels in construction, demolition and excavation waste of at least 95 per cent by 2020. Waste is often transported further, than is necessary and often several contractors operate in a single high street. Part of the strategy includes developing plans to help businesses tackle the problem of transporting waste.

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