This meeting of Waltham Forest’s Climate Scrutiny Committee looks set to focus on three core areas: Waste management in the context of the North London Joint Waste Strategy 2025-2040, taking a mission-led approach to climate action in the borough, and future work of the committee.

Draft North London Joint Waste Strategy 2025-2040

The Committee has been asked to review the draft North London Joint Waste Strategy 2025-2040. This strategy is a statutory requirement under the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 and will guide waste management in north London until 2040. The Strategy has been written in collaboration with officers from the seven north London boroughs: Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest, as well as the North London Waste Authority (NLWA). NLWA is the statutory waste disposal authority for north London and manages waste infrastructure across the area including the Edmonton EcoPark.

The draft strategy¹ places a strong emphasis on reducing waste at source.

To manage north Londoners’ waste according to the waste hierarchy, prioritising waste reduction then maximising reuse, repair, recycling (and the most climate-friendly means of disposal possible) where reduction is not feasible.

The report pack for the meeting also contains:

• A summary guide to the Draft Joint Waste Strategy
• A copy of the survey being used for the Public Consultation on the Draft Joint Waste Strategy
• A briefing note on Waste Projections which have been developed to show the potential changes to north London’s waste in future. This contains five projections which show possible future scenarios:
  • Projection A: High waste growth. This maintains current levels of waste and recycling and models the impact of increasing population and national economic growth.
  • Projection B: Consumer change. This models a lower rate of waste growth as a result of changed consumer behaviour and impacts of policies such as the Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme.
  • Projection C: Resource efficiency. This models a situation where waste growth is low as a result of increased resource productivity and the full impact of Government reforms such as EPR and the Deposit Return Scheme.
  • Projection D: Maximum recycling. This uses the same conditions as Projection C but also assumes the best possible recycling participation rates and minimum contamination of recycling.
  • Projection E: Regional targets. This uses the same conditions as Projections C and D but also models the impact of reaching the recycling targets set out in the Mayor of London’s Environment Strategy.
• An Options Appraisal report which explores the potential impacts of different waste collection methods. This includes:
  • A baseline model which captures the current collection services delivered by each of the seven north London boroughs.
  • A ‘baseline 2030’ model which uses the same service as the baseline, but models the impact of projected household growth in 2030 and the introduction of food waste collections for all properties, as well as collection of plastic film.
  • An alternative ‘twin-stream’ model where paper and card are collected separately from other dry mixed recycling. This option also models the impact of introducing food waste collections for all properties, as well as collection of plastic film.
  • An alternative ‘multi-stream’ model where residents are required to separate their recycling into three separate categories: 1) paper and card, 2) plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays and 3) glass bottles and jars. This option also models the impact of introducing food waste collections for all properties, as well as collection of plastic film. The Options Appraisal looks at a number of factors for each collection scenario, including recycling performance, cost, carbon emissions and public acceptability. This will help to inform any decisions taken on the future of waste collection services, however it is important to note that each of the boroughs will take decisions on waste collection in accordance with their individual local circumstances.

A Mission-led approach for climate action

The Committee has also been asked to consider how a ‘mission-led approach’ can be used to enable greater climate action in Waltham Forest. The report highlights the disparity between those who hold responsibility for climate change and those who are able to influence change and uses this to make the case for a mission-led approach.

The responsibility of climate action sits with us all, but the opportunity to take action is not equally accessible. The raw inequality here is that the people worst affected tend to hold the least power to influence change.

Mission-led approaches are often highly participatory and place value on partnership working. The report outlines examples of these in Waltham Forest, including:

• The Climate Action Plan adopted in 2022.
• Citizen’s assemblies on community safety and crime.
• The Big Climate Conversation, which engaged young people from 44 schools and colleges on climate action.
• The Community Voice Project, which aims to increase partnership working with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.

The report also sets out a number of potential initiatives which could embed this mission-led approach within the Council and across the borough. These include:

• Promoting the Climate Engagement Guide which has been developed by the Climate team.
• Encouraging participation through the Council’s climate communication networks: The Climate Emergency Newsletter, The Resident Climate Panel, and the Green Business Network.
• Supporting home energy efficiency improvements through new collaborations, such as the ‘Green extensions for foster carers’ project.
• Addressing borough-wide challenges in home energy efficiency improvements through local solutions, such as the Waltham Forest Service Store.
• Working collaboratively to facilitate environmentally conscious investment in The Upper Lea Valley.

The report pack also contains a summary of the Climate Engagement Guide. This focuses on:

• Developing services which are people-driven.
• Supporting community-led action.
• Facilitating open communication.
• Using clear and relatable language.
• Applying a climate justice lens.

The Scrutiny Report

The Committee has been asked to consider the Forward Plan for the remainder of the 2024-25 municipal year and to approve the Action Tracker and Recommendations Tracker from the previous meeting. The draft Forward Plan contains a number of items of interest for the committee, including the Enjoy Waltham Forest 10-year review and a discussion of biodiversity in the borough. The report pack for this meeting also contains:

• The Action Tracker which provides updates on actions agreed in the previous meeting. The Committee has been asked to review and approve this.
• The Recommendations Tracker which captures all recommendations made in the previous meeting and records any responses received. The Committee has been asked to review this.