LEWISHAM is rubbish at recycling – if new figures are to be believed – ranking bottom of 33 London boroughs.

Lewisham was bottom of the pile of results released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) with 20 per cent of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting between 2012 and 2013.

It marks an increase of 3 per cent for recycling from the previous year – where it also came last (2011-12) at 17.2 per cent.

But Lewisham Council says it encourages residents not to create waste in the first place and to compost within their gardens which would not be reflected in the figures.

Bexley came top for the 12th time in 13 years with 54 per cent of household waste reused compared with the London average of 34 per cent.

Bromley ranked second with 49 per cent recycled while Greenwich came 10th at 40 per cent.

Lewisham Friends of the Earth co-ordinator Ted Burke said: “It’s really disappointing to see Lewisham at the bottom of the London recycling league.

“Particularly since it was Joan Ruddock MP who championed the doorstep recycling bill with Friends of the Earth – the reason people across the UK have recycling bins outside their houses.

“It is clear Lewisham has a lot to do to catch up and I’ll be writing to the council to find out what they are doing about it.”

A Lewisham Council spokeswoman said: “Our waste reduction strategy differs from many other boroughs in that we focus on waste minimisation.

“We encourage residents to think about how they can reduce and reuse their waste by not buying more than they need, especially food.

“Unlike some other local authorities, we do not collect garden waste and instead encourage home composting.

“Boroughs that collect garden waste always include this in their recycling tonnage and will always show a higher recycling rate than those that don’t.

“Lewisham has long championed reducing the amount of waste that is sent to landfill, and has one of the lowest landfill rates in the country.”

Local superhero WEEE Man recently visited primary schools to promote the collection of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) during Lewisham’s WEEE week.

Schoolchildren from Holbeach, Torridon, Athelney, Horniman and Good Shepherd Catholic Primary Schools brought old electrical appliances to their temporary school drop-off points to dispose of them safely.


To find out more about recycling in Lewisham visit lewisham.gov.uk
Small electrical appliance banks can be found at:

• Sainsbury’s Car Park, Pearcefield Avenue, Forest Hill
• Catford Bus Garage, Bromley Road
• Grove Park Bus Garage, Baring Road
• Junction of Sydenham Road and Porthcawe Road
• Junction of Leyland Road and Eltham Road
• Crofton Park Community Library, Brockley Road
• Grove Park Community Library, Somertrees Avenue
• Sydenham Community Library, Sydenham Road
• Pepys Resource Centre, Deptford Strand, Deptford