Recycling in Islington now better than most Councils in London

11.41.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 10th Aug 2005

Islington Liberal Democrats are celebrating recycling in the Borough exceeding the London average for the first time.

When Labour lost control of the council, they had left recycling rates languishing at just 3.5% in 1999. Now, the Liberal Democrat run council has quadrupled that to 14%, breaking the barrier to make the rate above the 13% that is the London average.

They plan to continue the good work and try to exceed the national average (17%) next year through recycling innovations in the borough such as the pilot kitchen waste composting scheme and the pilot recycling on estates. If these are successful, they will be extended across the borough, boosting recycling rates still further.

Cllr Bridget Fox, Executive Member for Sustainability, says

"This is fantastic news – something of which both the council and local residents can be proud of! Labour left recycling in an appalling state in Islington, and we've had to build up recycling facilities and services from the ground up, so this is a major landmark for us. But there's still a lot more work to be done, and residents will be seeing lots more in the next few months and years to make it easier for them to recycle and make Islington a cleaner, greener place."