We are currently at 30% recycling rates in Haringey. Our aim is to get to 50%, and be London’s number one borough for recycling, in line with the Mayor of London’s target for 2030.
To do this we are always working to make recycling services as easy and accessible as possible.
You can help by telling us your recycling ideas.
Reasons to recycle
We need to recycle to help protect our planet, environment, wildlife, and resources for future generations. It’s easy to do, and every little action helps to make a big impact.
Recycling can:
- save tonnes of rubbish being disposed of as waste. In the UK it saves about 10-15 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, the equivalent of taking 3.5 million cars off the road
- reduce the need for raw materials, protecting natural habitats for the future. It reduces the need for extracting (mining, quarrying and logging), refining and processing raw materials, all of which create substantial air and water pollution
- save energy. Using recycled materials in the manufacturing process uses a lot less energy than that required for producing new products even when comparing all associated costs including transport. Mining and processing metal uses huge amounts of resources and energy and recycling cans saves up to 95% of the energy needed to make new cans from raw material
- create jobs and produce economic benefits, and it’s cheaper than disposing of waste. The more you recycle, and the less you put in the bin, the more money is saved, which is beneficial for households, businesses and local public services
For more information see why is recycling important? On the recycle now website.
You can use our reuse and recycling centre, banks, donations and collections directory for ways to recycle and find new homes for unwanted items.
Our plans to improve services
We are very proud of our recycling services but do not want to stop there.
To get to our goal of 50% by 2030 we want to:
- add keys and printer cartridges to the items that can be recycled at Haringey libraries
- increase the amount and material types of carpet and furniture that can be taken to our Reuse and Recycling Centre
- work with North London Waste Authority, our disposal Authority, to increase what they recover from the rubbish for recycling
- support more reuse and repair waste prevention opportunities in Haringey by collaborating with the local community to do initiatives such as jumble trails, clothes swaps (swishing) and vintage fairs
- increase recycling at schools to include more food waste, introduce textiles and battery recycling and have competitions to encourage participation
- increase the number of on-street small electrical recycling points across Haringey
- explore improving food waste recycling options for blocks of flats
- agree and implement a recycling contamination policy for Haringey to improve the quality and amount of recycling collected
- work with Haringey environmental action groups to develop programmes to put us on a zero-waste trajectory
- support Haringey businesses to reduce the use of single-use plastics
- work with North London Waste Authority to establish a reuse and repair hub