Help Hackney send less to landfill

Does working out what can or can’t go in your recycling bins leave you scratching your head?

We’re on a mission to shed some light on the amazing recycling services offered locally and the items which can be easily recycled.

In 2016/17 just 27% of household waste in Hackney was recycled and some contaminants tossed into the recycling by well-intentioned residents caused problems. The borough was ranked 24thin London for recycling rates.

The most common items wrongly included in dry recycling bags include: polystyrene, food, nappies, tissues, plastic film and wrappers, hard plastic like toys, electrical items and garden waste.

Here’s what you can recycle: aerosols, plastic containers (e.g. empty bleach bottles, shampoo bottles, yogurt pots, fruit punnets), cardboard, tin cans, glass bottles and jars, foil and foil trays. And giving dirty items a quick rinse makes them easier to recycle.

Hackney Council offers a broad recycling collection service – food waste and garden waste is turned into compost to use in the borough’s parks and it’s often given away free to residents at the local tips.

Basil Fansa, of the Local Buyers Club, added: “Many Hackney cafes, such as the Twisted Fork in Stoke Newington and the Deli Downstairs in Victoria Park, have started using compostable coffee cups. We’re lucky that the local Council and the North London Waste Authority which processes much of the compost, have trained staff to spot them, so when they’re included with the food waste the cups truly do go back to nature.”

All food and garden waste collected in Hackney, Barnet, Camden, Islington, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest is processed into compost at the North London Waste Authority’s In-Vessel Composting (IVC) plant in Edmonton and/or broken down to produce biogas and biofertiliserat an Anaerobic Digestion plant (AD) in Dagenham.

The average London recycling rate in 2016/17 was 33%. The average in England was 44.9%. The EU target aims for the UK to recycle at least 50 per cent of household waste by 2020. Ealing and Bexley are already exceeding that target.

Public recycling banks are drop-off points for clothes, small electrical appliances and low-energy lightbulbs. All Hackney libraries have battery recycling bins. You can also arrange for the Council to collect unwanted reusable furniture, which they’ll sell an affordable price to families on low incomes.

Find your nearest recycling bank at www.hackney.gov.uk/recycling-banks

What is the Local Buyers Club?

We're on a mission to help you discover & support the best local & independent businesses.

We've negotiated discounts of up to 25% for our members at dozens of fantastic restaurants, shops, bars and businesses throughout North and East London. We help promote them and raise awareness of the advantages of shopping locally. We also organise and support community initiatives.

Join Local Buyers Club and, for just £12 per year, you'll be helping to support local business and you'll receive a discount card to use at any of the 100+ businesses listed on the site.

Find out how it works and JOIN THE CLUB

Just some of the 100+ independent businesses offering discounts to our members: