"Recycle newspapers, not excuses" - Mike Tuffrey urges decisive action to enable Londoners to recycle as they travel

6.23.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 22nd Jun 2010

Mike Tuffrey, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly environment spokesperson, is urging the Mayor to finally ensure real action is taken to improve recycling for London's commuters. For almost four years Mike Tuffrey has been receiving assurances from the past and current Mayor that new recycling facilities, especially for free newspapers, will be dramatically improved.

Speaking at the beginning of national recycling week Mike Tuffrey said:

"Each and every day well over 1.5 million free newspapers are handed out to commuters and people travelling around London, yet the opportunities to recycle these papers as you travel remain totally pitiful. Not surprisingly last year Transport for London (TfL) completely failed to increase the recycling of commercial and industrial waste.

"So far the pledges provided by both Ken Livingstone and now Boris Johnson to make recycling much easier for London's commuters have proved worthless. Due to the lack of recycling facilities the amount of free newspapers discarded every day would soar the height of 50 Nelson columns.

"It is now time to start recycling newspapers, not excuses. We need real action to ensure that recycling facilities are as routine at every station as the free newspapers that are handed out. It should be as easy to recycle a free newspaper at tube or train station as it is to simply pick one up.

"The free morning newspaper contract organised by Transport for London was supposed to ensure recycling facilities were fully integrated into it. After so many years of no action being taken new recycling facilities should have been in place from day one of the new contract starting. Yet despite the new contract starting back in early April not one new recycling facility within an underground station has appeared - and it now appears that it will be many months before any plans even come forward."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Past pledges on improved recycling facilities by Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson include:

1. On the 18th October 2006 Ken Livingstone stated "We are about to receive the tender bids from three firms still in the bidding. Certainly, we are going to negotiate and make sure that that is the case." - responding to a question from Mike Tuffrey as to whether he will make it mandatory for profits from free newspapers to invested into recycling.

2. In November 2009 in response to the written question 2422/2008 about free newspapers Boris Johnson stated:

"I agree that more should be done to increase the recycling of free newspapers, as well as for paid newspapers."

3. Transport for London, in a press release on the 5th March 2010, declaring the renewal of the distribution contract for the Metro newspaper across London that:

"As well as expanding the existing Metro recycling scheme to more stations, the deal will also include new measures to reduce the number of copies left behind at the end of the distribution period every day"

For full details see: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/14743.aspx

4. Despite the new contract starting on the 6th April 2010 no actual improvements in recycling facilities have taken place and plans for any new recycling facilities are still very vague. In answer to the most recent question to the Mayor by Mike Tuffrey it was merely stated:

"London Underground is still working to identify suitable locations and gain appropriate approvals, so it is not yet able to provide a list of locations or the exact number of bins to be installed. LU currently expects to have this information by autumn."

http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=31383