Frequently Asked Questions

Currently, around half of North London’s Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW) and a quarter of business waste goes to landfill sites outside London but this cannot continue. In 2012 North London’s waste was sent to 121 waste planning authorities outside the area, and this picture needs to change. We need to reduce the amount of waste being produced, increase recycling and find alternative ways of using and treating waste within North London. Managing waste is everyone’s responsibility and we need everybody’s help to plan for North London’s waste into the future.

Several pressures necessitate the preparation of a Waste Plan for North London:

Landfill sites in South East England are filling up

The amount of waste is increasing but the available capacity of landfill sites in South East England is falling fast. The Mayor’s municipal waste strategy London’s Wasted Resource and his Business Waste Management Strategy commit London to deal with its own waste, rather than exporting it to surrounding areas. North London has no landfill sites of its own.

Biodegradable waste needs to be kept out of landfill sites

Biodegradable waste (e.g. green and kitchen waste) in landfill sites produces methane and carbon dioxide emissions which contribute to climate change. European Union legislation requires the UK to separate out biodegradable waste and treat it separately.

Recycling rates need to increase

The Government and the Mayor of London have set challenging targets for recycling and composting household waste. The Government’s landfill tax means that the financial penalties for local authorities for not reducing the amount of waste going to landfill are very high.

Resources need to be used more efficiently. Changes in public behaviour and business practices are needed to reduce resource use and waste production and increase re-use and recycling rates. In addition, waste which cannot be reused or recycled can be put to good use through, for example, energy recovery.

The chart below summarises the legal and policy impetuses to prepare a waste plan. Links to the relevant documents can be found in the Links section of this website.

Seven local authorities are working on the North London Waste Plan. Joint working offers significant advantages over planning for waste on an individual basis. It enables the pooling of resources, providing better access to waste planning expertise and improved chances of finding appropriate and sustainable sites. The seven local authorities are:

• Barnet
• Camden
• Enfield
  
• Hackney
• Haringey
• Islington
• Waltham Forest

LB Camden is lead borough for the North London Waste Plan (NLWP).

The North London boroughs (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest) have established a Planning Officers Group, Heads of Planning Group and a Planning Members Group to steer work on the NLWP.

The work on the NLWP is led by a Programme Manager, Archie Onslow, and a Principal Planning Officer, Victoria Manning.

The previous NLWP was prepared between 2007 and 2012. The duty to co-operate, a legal requirement of the plan preparation process came into effect in November 2011 with no transitional arrangements for plans already largely prepared. Soon after, in February 2012, the North London Boroughs submitted the North London Waste Plan to the Planning Inspectorate for independent Examination. This meant that the north London boroughs were required to demonstrate that they had complied with the duty to co-operate at the independent examination, even though the duty had not been in place during the time when the plan was prepared.

The duty requires the North London Boroughs to “to engage, constructively, actively and on an on-going basis” with prescribed public bodies in the preparation of development plan documents “so far as relating to a strategic matter”. Following representations from counties which receive waste from North London, mainly for landfill, the Planning Inspector concluded that the NLWP did not comply with legal requirements of the duty to co‐operate because there had not be constructive, active and ongoing engagement between the north London boroughs and the planning authorities to which significant quantities of waste are exported. Consultation under the prevailing system of plan making was not considered enough to retrospectively satisfy the legal requirements of the new duty. As a result the NLWP was found not legally compliant and could not proceed further in examination.

The boroughs subsequently agreed to prepare a new plan to ensure there is no doubt that legal compliance with the duty to co‐operate has been met, and have been in touch with everyone who sent in representations on the old plan.

Documents related to the previous NLWP can be found in the Documents section.

The North London Boroughs have identified 121 waste planning authorities (WPAs) who receive waste exported from north London. For the purposes of duty to co-operate, the boroughs need to consider ways to identify which of these 121 WPAs will be significantly affected by the North London Waste Plan (NLWP).

In January 2014, the boroughs wrote to all 121 waste planning authorities seeking confirmation of waste export figures, views on our approach to identifying “significant” impact and confirmation of whether the WPAs wish to open a dialogue with the North London Boroughs on waste movements to their area.

A copy of the letter and supporting statement, which sets out the boroughs’ approach to the identifying “significant” impact, can be found in the Documents section.

Once all responses have been received, a report on this initial stage of the duty to co-operate will be made available online.

As the duty to co-operate is a continuous process, the boroughs will then begin a dialogue with all waste planning authorities who consider waste exports from north London to constitute a “significant” impact. The aim is to engage with these authorities to identify any issues for the North London Waste Plan in order to achieve an effective plan.

There will be regular reports on the duty to co-operate process.

Waste in North London is generated by a wide range of processes. Residents are most familiar with waste collected from their household, such as packaging and food, which is collected by the local authority and forms part of the Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW) stream (formerly called municipal waste). However, this only accounts for part of the overall waste arisings. Much larger quantities of waste are generated by the construction industry (Construction, Demolition and Excavation waste – CD&E), such as broken bricks and cables, and from the commercial sector (Commercial and Industrial waste – C&I), such as food from restaurants and paper from offices. These make up the majority of waste produced within North London. The following table shows the amount of each waste type arising in north London in 2012 and the percentage of total waste it comprises.

(Table taken from North London Waste Data Study Part 2, available in full here)

The following pie chart shows the proportions of each type of waste arising in north London in 2011. A little more than a quarter of the waste produced is LACW (including waste from households). Most of the waste produced in north London is either C&I or CD&E waste.

(Pie chart taken from North London Waste Data Study Part 2)

Because new waste technologies emerge and older technologies become outdated, it is not necessarily desirable for the NLWP to specify which technologies should be used to manage north London’s waste over the next 15 years. A final decision about whether the plan should be “technology neutral” has not yet been made and will be considered as part of the plan preparation process.

Waste treatment facilities include:

Recyclable waste

• Bulking facilities
• Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF)
• Reuse and recycling centres
• Composting
• Anaerobic digestion

Residual waste (i.e. waste that can’t be recycled)

• Mechanical biological treatment
• Mechanical heat treatment
• Energy from waste
• Advanced thermal technologies
• Landfill

A brief introduction to different types of waste treatment techniques can be found in the leaflet below.

Waste Treatment Facilities leaflet PDF (708KB)

No sites have yet been chosen.  However, the NLWP Waste Data Study identifies capacity gaps for CD&E, C&I and Hazardous wastes streams, and the NLWA is reassessing its requirements for new facilities to manage LACW. It is therefore likely that the NLWP will need to identify sites/areas suitable to accommodate new waste management facilities.

An analysis of existing sites will be undertaken to identify any potential to expand to meet projected capacity gaps.  This will then establish the need for any new facilities/sites to meet any remaining shortfall.

Site selection criteria will need to be agreed and applied to all potential new sites.  Criteria will need to be in line with national, regional and local planning policies.  These criteria will be subject to further assessment for viability and deliverability which will lead to a short list of new sites.  These sites will then be subject to consultation as part of the draft plan.

We will be holding Focus Group sessions on site selection criteria and the results of sites assessment.  More details on the Focus Group can be found in the Timescales Page.

Site Ownership

The Pinkham Way site is owned by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) and the London Borough of Barnet. The NLWA which is the waste disposal authority for north London is not responsible for preparing the NLWP (see ‘What’s the difference between NLWP and NLWA?’ for further information).

The NLWA has issued the following statement about Pinkham Way:

NLWA bought part of the Pinkham Way site from London Borough of Barnet. The other part of the site remains in London Borough of Barnet’s ownership.

The Authority secured planning permission  to build the North London Heat and Power Project and construction is now underway at the Edmonton site in Enfield. It now has no immediate plans to develop the Pinkham Way site in Haringey.

Village Green Application

An application to register the land as a town or village green was submitted to LB Haringey under Section S.15 (3) of the Commons Act 2006. An Independent Assessor was appointed by Haringey to hold a non-statutory inquiry and to make recommendations on the application. The recommendation was that the application be refused.

Key objections were received from London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey and the North London Waste Authority. Philip Petchey, the Independent Assessor, provided a detailed overview of village green law.

There were a number of criteria that an application must meet in order to be successful –

1. A significant number of inhabitants of any locality (or any neighbourhood within a locality);
2. Indulged in lawful sports or pastimes;
3. As of right;
4. For a continuing period of not less that 20 years, and
5. The application was made within 2 years of such use having ceased.

Following the public inquiry, Mr Petchey concluded that there was insufficient evidence that there was significant use of the land. Also, relevant use of the land ceased in June 2009 (due to fencing), and the application was made over two years later (submitted in October 2011 and validated in February 2012).

The Haringey Committee decided to reject the application for the reasons set out in Mr Petchey’s report.

Further information is available on LB Haringey’s Website.

The North London Waste Plan (NLWP) is a draft planning policy document which is being prepared jointly by seven north London Boroughs in their capacities as planning authorities.

The Local Planning Authorities who are developing the NLWP are the London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington andWaltham Forest (‘North London Boroughs’). The north London Boroughs are combining forces to ensure there is sufficient provision of land allocated for the management of waste in north London. The NLWP plans for seven waste streams, including Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW), Commercial and Industrial (C&I), Construction, Demolition and Excavation (CD&E), hazardous, agricultural, waste water and low level radioactive waste. The NLWP will also set out some planning policies for waste management facilities in north London.

Each of the boroughs has to give its approval of the NLWP at each stage of the plan’s development.

The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is the joint waste disposal authority for the seven north London boroughs. It is responsible for managing the waste collected by the north London boroughs, including household waste. NLWA also promotes waste minimisation and recycling. NLWA is made up of 14 councillors, two from each of the seven north London boroughs. It is these 14 councillors that make decisions relating to the disposal of north London’s waste.

LondonWaste Ltd, which is owned by NLWA, operates a number of waste facilities, such as the EcoPark at Edmonton and several reuse and recycling centres (RRCs). LondonWaste Ltd has contracts with NLWA to provide waste management services, but NLWA also contracts with other companies too.

There is an understandable level of public confusion about the difference between NLWA and the NLWP; they both involve the north London boroughs, have similar acronyms and both deal with waste.

One of most common misconceptions is that NLWA is responsible for writing the NLWP. This is not the case. NLWA is one of a many parties being consulted as part of the process of developing the NLWP, and will continue to be consulted at all stages of the plan-making process but NLWA is not responsible for preparing or submitting the NLWP.

Preparation of the NLWP is a planning matter and planning officers and members from each north London borough contribute to the NLWP in their role as planning authorities.

NLWA is building a new Energy Recovery Facility at the Edmonton EcoPark as part of the North London Heat and Power Project. The new Energy Recovery Facility will replace the existing energy from waste plant and enable the recovery of energy from north London’s non-recyclable waste. Once operational, it will generate enough low-carbon heat and power for up to 127,000 homes.

The project includes a new public reuse and recycling centre with capacity to manage up to 135,000 tonnes of recycling every year.  Residents will be able to bring waste directly to the EcoPark for reuse and recycling.  A visitor and education centre is also included in the project, providing a long-term space for Edmonton Sea Cadets and a location for the community to learn more about the circular economy.

The NLWP takes account the North London Heat and Power Project.  Construction of the North London Heat and Power Project does not change the requirement on the boroughs as planning authorities to produce the NLWP.

Each of the North London Boroughs is preparing, or has adopted, a Local Plan. The Local Plan sets out planning policies for the borough.

Each Local Plan contains an overarching policy on sustainable waste management which refer to the North London Waste Plan.

These policies are contained in the respective Core Strategy documents and are in line with the overall strategy for waste as set out in the London Plan, North London Joint Waste Strategy, and national policy.

The NLWP will include more detailed policies on waste management. These will be in conformity with existing Local Plan policies.

Borough Local Plan waste policies can be found via the links below:

• Barnet:

Core Strategy

(2012): Policy CS14: Dealing with our waste

• Camden:

Core Strategy

(2010): CS18: Dealing with our waste and encouraging recycling

• Enfield:

Core Strategy

(2010): Core Policy 22: Delivering Sustainable Waste Management

• Hackney:

Core Strategy

(2010): Core Strategy Policy 32: Waste

• Haringey:

Core Strategy

(2013): SP6: Waste and Recycling

• Islington:

Core Strategy

(2011): Policy CS 11: Waste

• Waltham Forest:

Core Strategy

(2012): Policy CS6: Promoting Sustainable Waste Management and Recycling

Planning law requires local authorities to demonstrate that their plans are sustainable by undertaking a ‘sustainability appraisal’ (SA).

Sustainable development is a central concept in the planning system and reflects the need to consider social, environmental and economic issues and impacts so that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

The SA is a systematic process used to assess the extent to which a plan or strategy will help to achieve relevant social, environmental and economic objectives.

It also suggests ways of avoiding or reducing negative impacts. The findings of the SA will be reflected in the NLWP to help ensure that it maximises its contribution to future sustainability.

To ensure that recommendations from the sustainability appraisal are taken into account, the appraisal will be an ongoing process and an integral part of the development of the Plan.

Sustainability appraisal documents will be made available alongside other NLWP documents during key consultation stages.

Documents from the sustainability appraisal process have been issued on the Documents section.

More general background on sustainability appraisal can be found on the Planning Advisory Service website.

You can do a lot to reduce the amount of rubbish that goes in your bins. If everyone does this, it will make a big difference to the number of waste management sites needed in North London.

For suggestions on what you can do at home, or at work, visithttp://www.wasteonline.org.uk or http://www.recyclenow.com.

To find recycling facilities in your area visit your local authority website or type in your postcode at http://www.recycleforlondon.com