Shaping a new London Plan

摘要

While ESA agrees with many environmental principles underpinning the draft London Plan, it would benefit from further improvement and clarity on key areas. The ambition of a 65 per cent recycling target is laudable, but ESA is concerned that London's future waste infrastructure requirements have been underestimated as a result of a scenario modelled on incredibly ambitious recycling targets. There needs to be a clearer implementation plan for the practical steps needed to achieve the target. Borough-level apportionment targets are limited to household and commercial and industrial waste - to the exclusion of all other waste streams - and would benefit from review. The current approach is inconsistent with national planning policy, and the amount of waste to be managed by London over the plan period has probably been underestimated. The plan includes a policy for zero biodegradable waste to landfill while adopting a hostile approach to energy from waste (EfW), suggesting London does not need additional EfW capacity. It muddies the waters further with a policy to ban waste exports from London by 2026.