===== PAGE 1 ===== # WESTERN RIVERSIDE WASTE AUTHORITY

MEETING	28th June 2017
REPORT AUTHOR/DATE	Clerk and General Manager (Mark Broxup - Tel. 020 8871 2788)\n20th June 2017)
SUBJECT	Annual report
CONTENTS	Page 1 Executive Summary and Background\nPage 2 Recommendations\nPages 4 - 37 Appendix – Draft Annual Report 2016/2017
STATUS	Open - circulation of this paper is not restricted.
BACKGROUND PAPERS	None

===== PAGE 2 ===== This page has been left blank intentionally. ===== PAGE 3 ===== # EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND ## Introduction 1. The existing annual report for 2015/16 can be found online at: http://wrwa.gov.uk/media/81622/WA37-916-web.pdf 2. The Report includes sections on the Authority, its make-up, Members, meetings and organisational structure, and how it deals with all aspects of waste management in its area following the principles of the Waste Hierarchy. It also looks at waste trends and performance monitoring in 2016/17 and highlights its objectives for the future and how the public can assist in this. The document was originally drafted so that it would only be necessary to update annually factual changes such as tonnage and financial data. 3. The Appendix to this report details, in highlighted plain text, the changes that are proposed for 2016/17 (all of which reflect simple factual updates) and the Authority is recommended to approve these. ## ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS 4. Formal reviews of Freedom of Information and Environmental Information requests and complaints do not sit comfortably within the new Annual Report format and consequently these matters are now dealt with formally in this covering paper. Freedom of Information and Environmental Information 5. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Authority is required to produce a publication scheme of information which is available to the public. The Authority agreed its scheme in December 2002 (as set out in Paper No. WRWA 428). 6. Environmental Information Regulations establish an access regime, which allows people to request environmental information from public authorities and those bodies carrying out a public function. The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 came into force on 1st January 2005 (the same date that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came fully into force). 7. For the sake of a consistent approach, the Authority decided at its September 2004 meeting (Paper No. WRWA 478) to adopt the same approach to dealing ===== PAGE 4 ===== with requests under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 as that adopted for dealing with requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests. 8. The scheme has been reviewed and is considered still to be fully relevant in all respects. It is not felt that any new categories of information have arisen which need to be included in the scheme. 9. The Authority received four Freedom of Information requests in 2016/17, all of which were answered within the requisite timescales. ## Politically restricted posts 10. The Authority is required, under Section 2 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended), to maintain a list of staff posts defined as politically restricted posts and to review the list annually. Following this year's review, it is not intended to propose any amendments to the list approved by the Authority in June 2010 (Paper No. WRWA 665), which was as follows: (a) Clerk (b) Treasurer (c) General Manager (d) Deputy Treasurer (e) Deputy General Manager (f) Deputy Clerk ## Complaints 11. In 2016/2017 the Authority received eleven complaints, all of which were responded to and, if necessary, actioned. These complaints were varied and related to a number of areas, including lack of customer care at the Smugglers Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC), queuing of cars to enter the HWRC, litter on Smugglers Way and poor housekeeping at the Cringle Dock Waste Transfer Station. Whilst all complaints are reviewed with the objective of preventing avoidable recurrence, the figure of eleven is considered acceptable overall in the context of the number of interactions with the public and the nature of the Authority's operations. ## RECOMMENDATIONS 12. The Authority is recommended to: ===== PAGE 5 ===== a. approve the proposed new wording for the relevant sections of the Annual Report, as depicted in the Appendix to this report, and instruct officers to produce an updated version; and b. approve the intended approach on Freedom of Information and politically restricted posts set out in this report. ___ M. Walker CLERK TO THE AUTHORITY M. Broxup GENERAL MANAGER Western Riverside Transfer Station Smugglers Way Wandsworth SW18 1JS. 20^{th} June 2017 ===== PAGE 6 ===== # WESTERN RIVERSIDE WASTE AUTHORITY -2016/17 ## Waste reuse, recycling and energy recovery in your area – our way forward ## Contents Foreword by the Chairman Section 1 Introduction to WRWA Section 2 WRWA's waste management policy Section 3 What WRWA does with your waste Section 4 Prevention and reuse Section 5 Recycling Section 6 Recovery Section 7 Looking back – 2011/12 to 2016/17 review Section 8 Looking forward – a future for waste Section 9 Sustainability statement Section 10 Financial statement Section 11 How can the public help? Section 12 Glossary Contact us Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) is one of four Statutory Joint Waste Disposal Authorities in London which are charged by Parliament with managing the waste collected by their respective constituent councils. In the case of WRWA, these are the London Boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth, Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. ## Foreword by the Chairman (To be inserted) Councillor WRWA Chairman ## Introduction to WRWA Western Riverside Waste Authority was established in 1986 as an autonomous statutory local government body to undertake the waste disposal functions prescribed by the Local Government Act 1985 and the Waste Regulations and Disposal (Authorities) Order 1985. ===== PAGE 7 ===== WRWA is responsible for managing the waste collected in the London Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth, Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The boroughs have a combined population of approximately 976,000 living in 455,000 households. WRWA receives approximately 387,000 tonnes of recyclables and waste from the councils and their residents. In addition Cory Environmental Limited, our contractor, handles over 170,000 tonnes of local trade and commercial waste through WRWA's facilities. ## WRWA members WRWA comprises eight Members who are appointed by its four constituent councils – each council appoints two elected Councillors annually to serve on the Authority. The Members meet regularly through the year (on at least four occasions), have overall responsibility for the policy and management of WRWA and are required (when representing the Authority) to act in the interests of WRWA as the Waste Disposal Authority for the combined area. The role of Members is described below. Collectively, Members are the ultimate policy-makers and those responsible for the strategic and corporate functions of WRWA. They participate in the governance and management of WRWA They represent WRWA on other bodies. They have a duty to maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics and follow a Code of Conduct. They work with the constituent councils. They work with and influence regional and national partners such as the Mayor of London and the Environment Agency. They approve responses to consultation documents. ## Members 2017/18 Hammersmith & Fulham Council Cllr Michael Cartwright Cllr Wesley Harcourt ===== PAGE 8 =====

Kensington and Chelsea Council

Cllr Paul Warrick (Chairman)

Cllr Matthew Palmer

Lambeth Council

Cllr Mary Atkins

Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite

Wandsworth Council

Cllr Jonathan Cook (Deputy Chairman)

Cllr Guy Senior

## WRWA meetings Authority meetings are the main decision-making forum for WRWA matters. At these meetings, the Authority sets its overall corporate direction, policy framework and financial limits, within which all of WRWA's operations and policies are carried out. Authority meetings are generally held four times a year. They are open to the public and attendance is encouraged, unless exempt or confidential matters are being discussed. Further details about meetings and the dates of future meetings are available on our website, www.wrwa.gov.uk, or by contacting the Deputy Clerk on 020 8871 6039. ## Freedom of Information Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Authority is required to produce a publication scheme of information which is available to the public. The Authority received four Freedom of Information requests in 2016/17, all of which were answered within the requisite timescales. ## Complaints The Annual Report is used to provide statistical information on complaints received during the year under review. In 2016/2017 the Authority received eleven complaints. These complaints were varied and related to a number of areas, including lack of customer care at the Smugglers Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre, queueing of cars to enter the HWRC, litter on Smugglers Way and poor housekeeping at the Cringle Dock Waste Transfer Station. ===== PAGE 9 ===== The organisational structure of WRWA Management team Members Clerk General Manager Treasurer Deputy Clerk Deputy Treasurer WRWA Office WRWA office General Manager Deputy General Manager Principal Administration and Finance Officer Executive Officer Education Officers (x4) (Part time, 2 permanent, 2 temporary) Operations Manager Performance and Recycling Officer Administrative Assistant ## WRWA officers and staff The Authority is based at Western Riverside Transfer Station, Smugglers Way, Wandsworth, London SW18 1JS. Nearly 95% of the Authority's revenue budget is spent on contract payments. There are 9.3 full time equivalent posts including the General Manager employed by WRWA. Some financial and administrative support is also provided to the General Manager by Wandsworth Council and, in addition, each of the four constituent councils provides a designated Technical Officer to liaise with the Authority and inform it of the views of the constituent councils. Technical Officers attend eight officer liaison meetings a year in addition to the four Authority meetings ## WRWA's Waste Management Policy Western Riverside Waste Authority and its constituent councils are responsible for the collection, recycling, composting and treatment of some 387,000 tonnes per annum of household and commercial waste generated within their boundaries. The Authority has pursued a progressive and innovative approach to waste management that is waste minimisation and recycling-led, whilst utilising the River Thames for bulk transportation. Working in co-operation with each other and the ===== PAGE 10 ===== private and not-for-profit sectors, the Authority and its constituent councils have focussed on the needs of residents to provide a sustainable waste management service that should set a precedent for future waste management developments in London. At the heart of the Authority's Policy is a co-ordinated approach to investment which means not simply an investment in infrastructure, but also an investment in people. Ultimately, it is the people living and working in the WRWA area who are the key to delivering the Authority's aims and objectives. The Authority has established integrated waste management systems which ensure the Best Practicable Environmental Option is pursued for each particular waste stream and that these: embrace the concepts of waste prevention; seek to achieve a continued reduction in the amount of waste produced; increase the amount of waste that is re-used; • recycle, compost or recover energy from the waste that is collected; - minimise the environmental impact of transporting the waste; • encourage the creation of new, meaningful, job opportunities; - minimise disruption to others; and reduce the costs of operations to provide the best possible deal for Council Tax payers. ## What WRWA does with your waste In May 2002 WRWA entered into a long-term contract, known as the Waste Management Services Agreement (WMSA), with Cory Environmental Limited (now trading as Cory Riverside Energy). This contract is helping WRWA to realise its aim of maximising reuse and recycling and providing a greener future for management of its waste. The waste management services provided by WRWA and Cory involve waste and recyclable material being delivered to the Authority's two transfer stations, at Smugglers Way in Wandsworth and Cringle Street in Battersea, for either reuse, recycling or treatment. Western Riverside Transfer Station, near Wandsworth Bridge, can handle over 6,500 tonnes of waste and recyclables per week. WRWA's second transfer station, Cringle Dock, is located next to Battersea Power Station and can handle over 6,000 tonnes of waste and recyclables every week. Both transfer stations use state-of-the art technology in waste containerisation and ===== PAGE 11 ===== operate efficiently and to the highest environmental standards. Cory takes advantage of spare capacity at the transfer stations for the receipt of local trade and commercial waste. WRWA currently provides an integral Household Waste and Recycling Centre (previously known as a Civic Amenity Site) at its Smugglers Way transfer station and Lambeth Council also provides its own, additional, Reuse and Recycling Centre at Vale Street, West Norwood. WRWA receives co-mingled and separated recyclables at its transfer stations and a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) was constructed at Smugglers Way in 2010/11, so that most of the separation and baling process is now carried out on site and the baled materials are then transported on to their various market outlets elsewhere in the UK or abroad. Green Waste collected kerbside by the constituent councils and at WRWA's Household Waste and Recycling Centre is bulked at the transfer stations for onward transportation to a number of centralised composting facilities within, or just outside, the London area. Most of the waste that cannot be reused or recycled is compacted into containers before being loaded onto barges for their onward river journey. Historically, this was to Cory's landfill site located on the Thames Estuary at Mucking, Essex, but since the completion of the Riverside Resource Recovery Limited's (RRRL) Energy from Waste Facility at Belvedere, in the London Borough of Bexley, the waste has been used for energy recovery. The Authority is now sending "zero waste" direct to landfill and is generating enough electricity to power over 100,000 homes. Collaborative negotiation between the Authority and Cory Riverside Energy led, in March 2017, to a successful restructuring of the Belvedere Energy from Waste (EfW) Facility's long term borrowing which will generate significant financial savings for the Authority as a consequence. The Facility will, for decades to come, ensure a secure and environmentally sound treatment method for that portion of waste which cannot be reused or recycled. WRWA has been incentivised to find alternatives to landfill, both environmentally and fiscally. Those who manage and control waste are now required, by law, to follow the waste hierarchy and year-on-year increases in the rate of landfill tax (scheduled to continue to rise by £8 per tonne per annum), mean that the landfilling of waste has become an uneconomic proposition as well as one which is found at the bottom of the waste hierarchy in terms of its impact on the environment. ===== PAGE 12 ===== The Government's Waste Hierarchy Prevention Preparing for Reuse Recycling Other Recovery Disposal ## Prevention and reuse ## Recycle Western Riverside Recycle Western Riverside (RWR) is a communications and outreach campaign which encourages residents to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle their rubbish (the three R's). The campaign has been running since 2002 and is funded by WRWA. The RWR campaign consists of an education function currently carried out by four Education Officers and a communications programme which is directly managed by Authority staff. The four Education Officers are directly employed by the Authority on a part time/term time only basis. These officers have the responsibility for using the Visitors Education Centre to host and conduct educational talks and tours for schools, colleges, community groups, residents' associations and other interested parties based in the Authority's area, with particular emphasis on the three R's and the importance of recycling correctly. Their responsibilities also include the promotion of these education services, outreach work in schools and providing assistance with the general RWR communications programme. ## Visitors Education Centre at Smugglers Way At the Education Centre, visitors can view how the recycling materials are processed and how the materials are separated from each other using a variety of modern techniques (for more information see Section 5). Talks by the Education Officers and a DVD focus on how we can all contribute to a reduction in waste through adherence to the three R’s of waste – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Visitors can also see how the residual waste is containerised, loaded onto barges and transported by river. The reuse garden area shows that food can be grown, and food waste composted and reused, using only materials that would otherwise be thrown away. The Authority's team of education officers run tours of the Smugglers Way site for visiting schools and deliver a range of activities in school for all age groups, from ===== PAGE 13 ===== Nursery upwards. The aim of the programme is to teach children the 3R’s and encourage them to put them into practice in their daily lives, contributing to a better environment for everyone. The programme uses fun and engaging stories, craft activities and hands-on sorting of waste to get the message across. Children visiting the site get a great insight into what happens to the things they throw away and can see for themselves how their recycling is sorted. They even get to make their own piece of recycled paper to take away as a reminder of what they have learnt. In 2016/17 the team was expanded to offer more activities in schools and, as a result, has more than doubled the number of children we have spoken to over the year – up to 10,000 children during the course of the school year, compared with 4,500 the previous year. 60% of the primary schools in our four boroughs have now been involved in the programme and a third of those who took part this year were new schools that had not been involved before, so the reach of the programme has also increased. For the first time the education team have been able to offer Waste Audits to schools, where they spend a morning sorting and weighing the waste from the whole school, to see exactly how much the school is throwing away and how well they are doing with their recycling. The first one of these was run at a school in Wandsworth in the Spring Term, and the feedback was extremely positive: “ It has made a huge impact on staff and the children. Now we have lots of ideas and things to look at to help us move forward!” ## The Campaign RWR manages communication campaigns to promote the three R's using a variety of methods and media, such as adverts in-house Borough publications, waste collection vehicle livery advertising, local newspaper and Borough poster sites advertising. In addition leaflets are sent to residents with their Council Tax bills and information is also disseminated through the use of WRWA and partner websites and social media. Many themes are communicated, from 'Minimising Waste at Christmas' to 'Reducing Contamination in the Recycling Stream'. In 2016/17, the Authority continued its “Golden Ticket Recycling Scheme” to reward residents for their recycling efforts. The Scheme was open to all 455,000 households across the Authority’s area, with residents simply asked to fill out their basic contact details on the Golden Tickets and insert one each week with their clean recycling. Two draws were held during the year – one in December and one in March. In each Borough one lucky resident per draw received a first prize of £500, with eight others receiving a cash prize of £250. Community Groups located in the Authority’s area also received prizes for encouraging members to recycle. ===== PAGE 14 ===== The Authority was awarded funding of £23,625 from Resource London to take part in a London-wide campaign during Recycle Week using Recycle for London communications material, with the 2016 theme being 'The Unusual Suspects'. The aim of the week was to encourage people to think about all those items which often get forgotten about when recycling at home. The funding was used to buy 73 adverts on telephone boxes in Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth and Wandsworth and six bus shelter adverts, seven telephone box adverts and over 400,000 mobile phone adverts in Kensington and Chelsea. ## Reuse Project In line with the waste hierarchy, WRWA and its constituent councils highlighted that they wished to increase the re-use of products and materials received as part of their waste streams. It was felt that the most effective way of capturing these materials was to work in partnership with experts in reuse, such as London Community Resource Network (LCRN), an umbrella body representing London charities that collect and redistribute reusable items for resale. A proposal was put together in 2009 for a funding application to be submitted to the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWaRB) for a reuse project to be established in the Authority's area and, in June 2010, LWaRB agreed to fund the project which was up and running by the end of 2011. One of the main aims of the reuse project is to help achieve behaviour change within the WRWA area, in line with the established waste minimisation and recycling awareness ‘Recycle Western Riverside’ campaign. The reuse project will assist with changing residents’ behaviour by providing a tangible system that will prolong the life of goods and help residents to see the potential value in things they would usually discard. It is expected that the promotion of a positive reuse message, consistent with the waste hierarchy, will also lead to increases in recycling participation and capture rates (initially the project has caused recycling rates to fall a little, as recyclable material is moved up the waste hierarchy). It is calculated that, in time, the Reuse project may extract around 1,700 tonnes per annum from the Authority's waste stream, around 1,200 tonnes of which will ultimately be reused with the majority of the remainder being recycled. ===== PAGE 15 ===== The project provides affordable items for people who need them and back-to-work opportunities for people who are long-term unemployed. It encourages the reuse of most easily reusable, repairable or recyclable bulky items which should be in good condition or in a repairable state. These include the items shown in the blue box. Reusable items are distributed to a wide variety of LCRN members, and it is this access to a large number of varied outlets that is one of the major strengths of the scheme and what sets it apart from others. The project comprises two elements: ## ReWork One element of the project is a workshop – “ReWork” – at the Smugglers Way transfer station in Wandsworth that is used to refurbish and enhance the reusable goods and items. Cory has given up space and buildings within the transfer station to create sufficient storage for the reusable goods and items. The access to and refurbishment of these buildings has enabled a safe and fully contained reuse working area to operate away from the main transfer station operations. The workshop is operated as a training centre for volunteer unemployed people and also facilitates the Community Pay Back scheme. Its aim is to provide accredited training such as manual handling, stock control, customer service, health and safety, environmental awareness, warehouse and distribution. There are now nine full-time members of staff in post. There are three part-time paid trainees and the London Probation Service also volunteers up to sixteen offenders who carry out their group Community Order work (Community Service), eight of whom work in one group every Monday under a Community Service supervisor, with the remaining eight being spread over the rest of week working under Rework staff supervision. In addition there are two other volunteers working part-time directly with Rework staff. The design of the Household Waste and Recycling Centre includes a dedicated area for residents to drop off their reusable goods. Reusable goods in good cosmetic condition that need minor repair and/or electrical testing are taken to the workshop. Since it opened in 2012 productivity has steadily increased and now more than 50 large kitchen appliances and 60 furniture items are being refurbished and sent for resale each week. ===== PAGE 16 ===== ## Reuse collection service The reuse telephone hotline which had been in place since the commencement of the project has now ceased operating. However, each of the constituent councils has established an alternative reuse collection service. Lambeth has established an alternative hotline service and collection arrangement for its residents with Emmaus, a homeless charity which was the collection partner in that borough under the previous arrangement. The service is free of charge, although Emmaus reserves the right to reject any item it finds unsuitable to be reused. It also encourages residents to forward to it photos of the items for collection to ensure suitability prior to collection bookings. Wandsworth has also established an arrangement direct with its previous collection partner. Resco operates a new hotline number and booking service and has agreed to charge the same for the collections as Wandsworth's bulky waste collection charge. Kensington and Chelsea also uses Resco for its reuse collection service. Collections are charged at £30 Hammersmith and Fulham have set up a direct arrangement with Furnish, their collection partner under the LRL arrangement. Further details of the reuse collection arrangements for all four boroughs can be found here: ## The Reuse Project will take: ## • Home furniture Including beds, sofas, tables, chairs, cupboards, chests of drawers. • Large appliances/white goods Including fridges, washing machines, tumble driers, cookers. It doesn't matter if they are no longer working. • Bicycles • Sports equipment • Bric-a-Brac ## How to book For more details, or to book a collection, visit the London Reuse website www.londonreuse.com, or contact the waste and recycling department of your local council or the reuse collection service for your council, as follows: ## London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham ===== PAGE 17 ===== W: https://www.sbhg.co.uk/furnish/ T: 020 8996 8920 Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea W: http://bookings.rescoliving.co.uk/page/rbkc-reuse/ T: 020 3405 4859 or 020 7361 3001. London Borough of Lambeth W: http://www.emmaus.org.uk/lambeth T: 020 8761 4276 London Borough of Wandsworth W: https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/reusecollection or http://bookings.rescoliving.co.uk/ T: 020 3405 4859. ## Recycling The Authority recycles a whole range of materials at its Household Waste and Recycling Centres and a full list can be found on our website at www.wrwa.gov.uk The following sections describe what happens to some of the larger recycling streams. Co-mingled ‘recycling sack and bank’ scheme Cory began the construction of an 84,000 tonne per annum Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) at the Authority's Smugglers Way Transfer Station in November 2008. This facility is processing co-mingled recyclate delivered by the Authority's constituent councils from their “Recycling Sack and Bank” schemes. ## The MRF Before construction of the main MRF building itself could start, preparation works were carried out to the river wall and a containment barrier was installed along the eastern boundary of the Household Waste and Recycling site to prevent any slightly polluted water (from the site's historic use as a Gasworks) under the main body of the site from draining into the Thames. The design and build of the main MRF building and associated civil works were carried out during 2009 and the installation of the bulk of the processing and associated equipment was carried out during 2010. Commissioning commenced in October of that year and the facility was officially opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal in March 2011. Cory took over the operation of the MRF in April 2011, when the equipment contractor ceased involvement with the commissioning process, and has continued ===== PAGE 18 ===== to work through the remaining design and engineering problems that have impacted on the MRF operation. The MRF has a design capacity of 84,000 tonnes per annum and has been designed to process co-mingled materials, delivered loose or in plastic bags, consisting of a mix of one or more of the following dry recyclables: paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, clear and coloured PET plastic (e.g. drink bottles), clear and coloured HDPE plastic (e.g. laundry and washing-up liquid bottles) steel and aluminium cans and polycoat material (e.g. Tetra Pak). In July 2016 two unrelated fires took place in the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), within four days of each other. Following a short diversion after the second fire the MRF has been able to run at approximately 60% capacity and the remainder of the incoming mixed recycling has been sent to third party MRFs for processing. It is anticipated that the MRF will become fully operational again in May 2017, after all the repairs are completed, and further fire prevention measures will be deployed, including the installation of fire curtains and a deluged water system in addition to the sprinkler water system. It is also hoped that other improvements being carried out alongside the refurbishment works will lead to an increase in the efficiency of the MRF. The facility has allowed the Authority to be predominantly self-sufficient in relation to the sorting of collected co-mingled recyclable materials, complying with the proximity principle and reducing vehicle movements associated with this activity. The MRF building incorporates an interactive Education Room providing improved facilities for educational activities in relation to recycling which is of particular benefit to school children and students from colleges in the four boroughs, as well as visitors from the local community and further afield. The building also benefits from the installation of photovoltaic cells (or solar panels) on its roof and visitors can see a display showing how much electricity they are generating and the carbon emissions saved as a result. The Recycle Western Riverside (RWR) campaign is being used to focus attention on contamination issues (i.e. unwanted items in the recycling sacks and banks that cause difficulties for the MRF operation) and to educate the public about what can and cannot be recycled. To this end in November 2012 a Waste Contamination Seminar, attended by WRWA Officers, Technical Officers and Constituent Council Waste, Recycling, Policy and Communications Officers, was held. In recent years the Authority's constituent councils have also taken steps to reduce the contamination rate as far as possible and have largely been successful. One of the key changes is the introduction of clear recycling sacks to replace the orange ===== PAGE 19 ===== recycling sacks used previously. This move enables the collection crews to inspect the contents of the recycling sacks before deciding whether to place them in the recycling or the waste compartment of the collection vehicle, thereby reducing the delivery of non-targeted materials to the MRF. ## How does the MRF work? The MRF initially sorts the recyclable materials mechanically based on their specific size and shape properties. The recycling sacks and bags are loaded onto a conveyor belt and travel through a ‘bag splitter’ which uses small blades to rip open the bag, releasing the materials. The loose materials then pass through a sorting cabin where empty recycling sacks and contaminant materials are removed from the conveyor belt. The rest of the materials travel up onto a set of screens. A screen comprises a set of rotating shafts with steel star-shaped discs spread out over a specific distance and inclined. On the first screen sheets of cardboard “surf” up and over the screens, whilst the rest of the materials fall through the gaps. The material that falls through the bottom moves on to the next screen, where the distance between the discs and their speed of rotation is set so that newspapers and pamphlets "surf" over the top and the rest of the material falls through the gaps. This process is then repeated on two further screens to remove mixed papers, plastic bottles, tubs and cans – while the glass and smaller items fall through all the screens. The material from each screen then goes past an optical sorter that removes any rogue material that has incorrectly "surfed" up a screen (rogue recyclable material is returned to go around the process again). The cardboard and paper products then go through a manual quality control area before being baled or loaded loose into road bulkers. The cans are removed by magnetic and eddy current separators and the plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays go through further optical sorters which can sort the material into different chemical types and colours. The glass goes through a large rotating drum with holes called a ‘trommel’ (that looks like a bit like a washing machine drum) and it separates the smaller items that should not be with the glass. ===== PAGE 20 ===== All the products leave the site by road (as the destinations are many and varied) with newspapers, pamphlets and glass going loose in bulkers and with the other materials being baled and transported by curtain-sided vehicles. The material, particularly the plastics, can be recycled into many different products – for example, paper is made into newspapers, glass bottles and jars are crushed into fine sand for use in paving and plastic bottles can be made into planter pots. In some cases the material is remade into the same product – steel cans become cans once again! ## Green Waste Garden Waste delivered by residents to the household waste and recycling centres is sent for composting at an In-vessel Composting (IVC) facility. The green waste material is converted into a range of horticultural, landscape and agricultural products in an enclosed environment, with accurate temperature control and monitoring, thus providing the optimum controlled conditions for organic waste to be composted. ## Detritus Waste Detritus waste is wet waste collected by mechanical street sweepers and gully cleansing vehicles. Detritus is made up of water, grit, stones, sand, soil, organic waste and litter. This waste is sent off to a specialist re-processor and 74% of it is currently recycled. The water is cleaned and reused, the grit and stones are used as an aggregate material and the clean litter (mostly cans and plastic) is recycled. ## Household Waste and Recycling Centres WRWA currently provides a Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) at its Smugglers Way Transfer Station where local people can dispose of or, preferably, recycle their own waste or leave items for reuse. Lambeth Council also provides its own, additional, Reuse and Recycling Centre for its residents. The HWRC at Cringle Dock was closed to residents dropping off waste and recyclables in cars in September 2012, but the site remains open for the receipt of borough and trade waste and to residents using vans. WRWA completely upgraded and redesigned the Smugglers Way HWRC in 2012. The facility is based on a split-level concept, so that the public is physically separated from the operational activities. This layout provides greater flexibility to users when they deposit material and has reduced waiting times. This, combined with a ===== PAGE 21 ===== significant increase in the number of cars able to queue onsite at peak times, has helped to reduce local traffic congestion. The design also allows for a wide range of best practice features including, amongst other things, bollard demarcation and real time queuing information to be displayed on the WRWA website. A webcam is now up and running to enable residents to view the HWRC entrance ramp so they can assess the situation regarding queuing before visiting the site. A vehicle number plate recognition system is also operational which is designed to detect cars that use the site too frequently and highlight this to the site advisers who can monitor the types of waste being disposed of by the vehicle owners. This helps to prevent commercial waste operators using the site illegally. This system also records the vehicle details and has a database facility to enable Authority staff to monitor site usage. Following the closure of the Cringle Dock HWRC the Authority carried out a review of the operation of the new Smugglers Way HWRC, particularly focussing on waste that is technically defined as industrial (such as tiles, windows, doors, timber and wooden flooring, bricks, rubble, paving, stones and hardcore, bathroom suites and fittings, fencing, sheds, kitchen units and fittings, soil, turf, etc). From 1st April 2013 this waste continues to be accepted at the HWRC free of charge from residents using cars, motorcycles, bicycles or on foot. However the revised arrangements now limit the free delivery of residents' waste in vans to that which most people would reasonably take with them when moving house and which could not reasonably be delivered in a car, e.g. large items of free standing furniture and white goods. An example of the layout of the site is shown opposite. We have set up two large bays for specific items that are intended for recycling or reuse (see Bay A and Bay B opposite). As well as general household waste containers, we have individual containers for a whole range of items that can be recycled including those shown. ## Feathers Wharf The Bulk Bays for receiving source-segregated recyclables were moved to Cringle Dock in 2013 and therefore the Authority does not currently require the use of its area of land at Feathers Wharf, adjacent to Smugglers Way Transfer Station, for waste disposal purposes. It has been agreed that for the foreseeable future the land will be leased to a third party and, in February 2015, planning permission was granted by Wandsworth Council for a change of use to Storage of Construction Plant. The new tenant took up occupancy in autumn 2015. However further plans for the future use of the site are discussed in Section 8. ===== PAGE 22 ===== Full information on WRWA's Household Waste and Recycling Centres can be found by following the link www.wrwa.gov.uk ## BAY A RECYCLING AREA Bay A is for the following items which are beyond repair, and will be recycled: • Books (reused and recycled) Used engine oil • Large appliances • TVs and monitors • Printer cartridges • Fluorescent tubes • Mobile phones • Batteries • Gas bottles • Cooking oil • Spectacles • CDs and DVDs ## BAY B REUSE Bay B is for the following items which are in reasonable condition. They will be repaired or reused: • Large appliances • Flat panel TVs and monitors • Furniture • Bicycles • Sports equipment • Bric-a-Brac Please ensure items are in good cosmetic condition ## Recovery ## The journey by river An integral part of WRWA's contract with Cory is the use of the River Thames for transporting its residual waste that cannot be reused or recycled. The waste is loaded by crane onto one of Cory's barges in sealed containers – each of Cory's 47 barges has a 300 tonne capacity and is pulled by a tug, which tows them some 20 miles downriver to the Riverside Resource Recovery Energy from Waste facility in ===== PAGE 23 ===== Belvedere. The river operation is governed by the tides. Craft containing full containers go downstream on the ebb tide and empty containers are taken back upstream on the flood tide. Transporting waste by river is occasionally difficult, particularly when there are high winds or fog, but from an environmental point of view it is an excellent method of transport. The four hour journey from the transfer stations to Belvedere, negotiating bends, bridges and currents, requires an experienced skipper at the wheel. Although commercial river traffic has declined, the tugs' crews need to keep a watchful eye for pleasure craft and other users of the River. Cory's fleet is headed up by its four newest tugs which have been in operation since Autumn 2010. The tugs Reclaim, Recovery, Redoubt and Resource are just the latest in a long line of Cory tugs that have been operating on the River Thames for over 110 years and, in June 2012, they led the working boats section of the Queen's Jubilee Pageant. Overall Cory transports around 600,000 tonnes of waste a year on the Thames, thus saving more than 100,000 heavy vehicle movements a year on the capital's already congested roads. To complete the process, the Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) produced at the Riverside facility is taken back on Cory's barges in specially designed containers to an IBA processing facility at Tilbury Docks, developed by Ballast Phoenix. This can process 170,000 tonnes of IBA a year to recover metals and produce a construction aggregate currently being used on the M25 widening scheme and many other road and construction projects. ## Belvedere Energy from Waste plant The Belvedere Energy from Waste plant (EfW) plant is owned and operated by Riverside Resource Recovery Limited (RRRL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cory. The Facility provides for the incineration of waste, and the use of the heat from the process to generate electricity through steam generation in boilers. It is the largest EfW Facility in the UK and one of the largest in Europe, which generates 72MW of power (6MW of which is used on site and the remaining 66MW is exported to the National Grid). It is designed to manage an average of 585,000 tonnes of residual waste each year, over its life, with an annual throughput of up to 670,000 tonnes. ===== PAGE 24 ===== RRRL became fully responsible for the operation of the Riverside Energy from Waste Facility in October 2011, when they finally received the “Take Over Certificate” from Hitachi Zosen Inova AG (HZI), the project technology supplier for the Project. Use of the EfW plant does not artificially limit WRWA's ability to reduce or recycle its waste. Whilst WRWA has the benefit of a guaranteed level of capacity at the facility it remains free to reduce or recycle its waste without limitation. WRWA is not required to supply any guaranteed level of tonnage to the facility, or make any minimum payment. Indeed, the Authority receives a royalty for any capacity it gives up and is therefore positively incentivised to make such reductions. The planning permission only allows for 85,000 tonnes per annum to be delivered to the Facility by road with all remaining waste to be supplied by river, from within Greater London. The majority of the waste is therefore transferred to the facility via the Authority's Transfer Stations at Smugglers Way and Cringle Dock, the City of London's Transfer Station at Walbrook Wharf and the Transfer Station at Northumberland Wharf in Tower Hamlets. The Facility is designed to have the capability of providing waste heat for use by nearby homes or commercial premises, but no suitable outlets have as yet been identified. However, the Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) is being processed at Ballast Phoenix Limited's IBA recycling plant at Tilbury Docks which was constructed to recycle the bottom ash produced at the Facility. Over 150,000 tonnes per annum of the inputs to Belvedere (approximately 28%) will end up as bottom ash and this is transported from Belvedere by river barge to Tilbury. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals are reclaimed during processing, with the remaining material being processed into aggregate, destined primarily for new road schemes. The Riverside facility was officially opened by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal in May 2012 and it is one of the UK's most efficient energy recovery plants and an important strategic waste management facility for the capital. ## The Energy from Waste Process When the tugs arrive at the facility's jetty the waste containers are unloaded by two goliath gantry cranes and placed on the back of dock tractors and trailers. ===== PAGE 25 ===== These vehicles deliver the waste containers into the tipping hall of the plant and also take containers of Incinerator Bottom Ash from the facility back to the jetty for onward processing and recycling at Tilbury. ## Tipping hall 1. Waste arrives in the tipping hall in containers on the back of RRRL's fleet of dock tractors and trailers and in a variety of waste collection vehicles from the surrounding area. 2. The waste is tipped into one of 12 tipping bays. Each bay has a hydraulically operated door which minimises noise and odour during the tipping operations. Lights on each tipping bay indicate to the drivers of the vehicles which bay is available to receive waste. ## DID YOU KNOW? The facility processes an average of 585,000 tonnes a year of waste over design life. Each container holds 12-14 tonnes of waste. ## Waste bunker 1. The waste bunker is 30m deep, 61m long and 16m wide. It can hold up to around 10,000 tonnes of waste – enough to fuel the whole plant at full capacity for five days. 2. Overhead waste cranes mix the waste so it maintains a similar heating value throughout. The waste cranes feed each of the three combustion lines ensuring that each of the boilers has the required feedstock for continuous 24-hour operation. ## DID YOU KNOW? Infrared cameras detect any hot spots. If any hotspot exceeds 85circC water cannons will automatically operate. ## Waste combustion 1. Waste is fed into one of the three feed hoppers by the overhead cranes. The waste then travels down the chutes and onto a horizontal feeder table. 2. Hydraulically operated ram feeders push the waste onto the sloping grate. 3. The sloping stoker grate consists of alternate rows of fixed and moving cast steel bars. Through the forward movement of these bars the waste tumbles slowly down the burning waste bed. The resulting burnt out product – Incinerator Bottom Ash – falls from the base of the grate into a quench bath. 4. Primary heated combustion air drawn from above the waste bunker is distributed into the waste bed through holes in each cast steel grate bar. This process dries the ===== PAGE 26 ===== waste and provides the correct amount of air to allow good combustion of the waste bed. In compliance with the Waste Incineration Directive, the combustion process operates at <850°C. 5. Secondary swirling air introduced above the grate through cylindrical nozzles ensures that the gases in the waste are thoroughly mixed. This results in a fully optimised combustion process and encourages low levels of toxicity in the gases leaving the combustion chamber. NOx levels are reduced by ammonia injection to the levels required in the Environmental Permit. 6. Heat from the flue gases heats the water in the boiler tubes turning the water into super heated steam. This steam drives the turbine which in turn drives the generator, producing electricity. 7. Gases and smoke produced during combustion are drawn through the gas passes of the boiler by an induced draught fan. ## DID YOU KNOW? Incinerator Bottom Ash is a by-product of the combustion process and accounts for approximately 28% of the facility's waste throughput. ## Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) 1. The Incinerator Bottom Ash which drops from the grate into a quench bath is then pushed by hydraulic rams onto vibrating conveyors and from there falls into the ash bunker. Any oversized metal or other objects fall off the conveyor into skips to be recycled. 2. The Incinerator Bottom Ash is moved by overhead ash cranes from the ash bunker into elevated loading hoppers which are positioned over an internal roadway. 3. Incinerator Bottom Ash is discharged from the hoppers into ash containers. These containers are transported to the jetty on dock tractors and trailers and placed on barges to be taken to the IBA processing facility at Tilbury. Around 170,000 tonnes of ash per year is sent for processing. ## Flue gas treatment 1. Flue gases leave the boiler and pass into a Turbosorp\circledR reactor tower where hydrated lime, powdered activated carbon and water are injected into the swirling gas flow. These help neutralise acids and capture heavy metal particles. ===== PAGE 27 ===== 2. Gases from the Turbosorp\circledR reactor tower are drawn into one of three fabric bag filters which each consist of 2,048 6m long cylindrical fibre bags on steel wire cages. The clean gases pass through the filters and the Air Pollution Control Residue (APCR) collects on the outer surface of the bags. 3. Compressed air pulses shake off the APCR into silos. The APCR is removed from the site by road tanker. 4. Clean hot gas is drawn out of the fabric filter bags through a heat exchanger which allows heat to be transferred from the gas into the boiler feed water. 5. An induced draught fan for each of the three lines draws clean cooled gas up the 85 metre stack where it is discharged into the atmosphere. Emissions equipment continually monitors plant performance in relation to the environmental permit. ## DID YOU KNOW? The Air Pollution Control Residue (APCR) is a by-product of the combustion process and accounts for approximately 4% of the facility's waste throughput. ## Steam turbine and generator 1. High pressure steam from each of the three boiler drums is directed onto rings of fixed blades causing the turbine to rotate at high speed. 2. The steam turbine is coupled to the electric generator which rotates at the same speed as the turbine. This produces high voltage electricity which is sent to the 132kv substation and on to the National Grid. The plant produces enough electricity to power around 100,000 homes. 3. Exhaust steam leaves the turbine and is cooled in an air cooled condenser. The resulting condensate is then returned to the boilers as boiler feed water. Looking back – 2011/12 to 2016/17 review ## Waste trends For WRWA, the real success generally in the last decade has been the significant decrease in total waste arisings which was accompanied to begin with by a simultaneous increase in recycling tonnages. Since 2012/13 we have met and achieved our aim of reducing to “zero” the waste sent direct to landfill. However, for the six year period under review, the total waste managed by the Authority has remained fairly constant, albeit with a slight reduction in overall waste arisings in decrease in ===== PAGE 28 ===== 2016/17. Recycling represented around 21% of total waste managed, again remaining relatively constant in the last few years. This consists of mainly dry recycling material which contains limited green waste and is on par with other urban areas. The overall decrease in recycling in the last four to five years is partly a result of a fall in Comingled recycling and green waste delivered to the Authority by constituent councils and residents using the household waste and recycling centre, but is also due to closer monitoring and more accurate reporting of contamination levels. ## Performance monitoring WRWA continually monitors its performance. Waste tonnage data is collated daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually and is analysed to establish trends for each type of recycling or waste received. Budgets are similarly monitored and regular financial reports are presented to Members three times per year. WRWA officers hold periodic meetings with officers from the constituent councils and in 2009 the constituent councils agreed that WRWA could charge them directly on the type and tonnage of material that they individually delivered to it. This means that the cost of waste treatment is borne by the councils fully in accordance with the “polluter pays” principle and it also means that they too are directly and continually monitoring WRWA’s performance. ## Waste treatment methods

Material	2011/2012	2012/2013	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17
Batteries	14	22	24	23	28	19
Clinical	135	91	87	96	98	95
Co-Mingled Recyclables	81,174	75,091	69,601	67,612	66,625	66,733
Detritus	4,612	4,554	4,950	4,476	4,888	4,418
Electricals	1,120	1,187	903	1,052	1,111	797
Fridges	228	137	260	500	548	541
Gas Bottles	10	4	4	6	17	5
General	302,005	304,096	305,030	306,832	308,052	304,504
Glass	15	1	0	6	0	0
Green	5,626	5,214	4,072	4,783	4,123	4,265
Inert	909	333	443	794	870	873
Oil	17	14	21	10	9	12
Paper/Cardboard	920	839	711	742	846	859
Scrap Metal	499	437	469	607	708	650
Textiles	144	166	203	178	204	152
Tyres	35	15	22	16	13	11
Wood	2,098	902	2,263	3,316	3,384	2,568
	399,561	393,101	389,064	391,049	391,640	386,502

===== PAGE 29 =====

Treatment	2011/2012	2012/2013	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17
Landfill	64,700	2,292	2,496	2,792	2,787	2,752
Energy Recovery	242,087	304,186	305,117	307,452	306,846	303,015
Recycled/Reused	92,774	86,622	81,450	80,805	82,007	80,735
Total	399,561	393,101	389,063	391,049	391,640	386,502

## Looking forward – a future for waste ## Our plans for the future ## Crightle Dock Crightle Dock is one of the fifty Safeguarded Wharves located on the River Thames allocated for the handling of cargo by barge. It is one of London's key waste infrastructure sites and now transfers around 260,000 tonnes a year, or 5,000 tonnes each week, of non-recyclable 'black bag' waste – an amount equivalent to one quarter of that produced in the whole of Wales – which demonstrates Crightle Dock's importance as a strategic public asset. Crightle Dock has operated as a waste transfer station since 1972 and is protected by planning policies contained in the London Plan 2011 and Wandsworth Council's Core Strategy. These policies require that any development adjacent to a safeguarded wharf must minimise the potential for conflicts of use and disturbance. Recent planning decisions have released industrial sites, such as Battersea Power Station in the Nine Elms Vauxhall area of London where Cringle dock is situated, to be redeveloped for mixed residential, commercial, retail and leisure complex uses. The existing waste transfer station at Cringle Dock does not sit comfortably with the ===== PAGE 30 ===== new surrounding land uses. The transfer station is over 40 years old and architecturally very much out of keeping with the proposed new developments. Furthermore, the current operational design of the waste transfer station is based around waste storage bunkers; whilst functional, the open air system can, on occasion, emit odour nuisances. Despite its Safeguarded Wharf status, without redevelopment, the arrival of large numbers of residents, workers and visitors to the area will undoubtedly cause issues that could seriously impinge on the operations at Cringle Dock. Since 2012, the Authority has been in discussions with the owners of Battersea Power Station to see what could be done to safeguard the long-term operation of Cringle Dock, by improving it operationally and visually and thereby reducing the potential for conflict with its new neighbours and contributing towards the strategic regeneration of the area generally. There is now a shared goal to provide a state-of-the-art waste processing facility that minimises, or even removes, the need for it to interact with or impact upon its new neighbours in any way. Noise, dust, vibration, smell and even visual impacts can and have been removed through design. In July 2016, planning permission was granted by Wandsworth Council's Planning Committee for a proposed new facility at Cringle Dock based on a design incorporating residential accommodation facing the Thames above a new Waste Transfer Station (WTS). The new WTS would use modern equipment and processes to continue operations with much greater control over environmental issues. The new WTS design is both safer and operationally very much more resilient than the current operation. Further approval was sought in January 2017 to amend the existing permission for the area currently set aside for the Bulk Bays to be used to provide around 4,700 sq m of additional commercial floor space. It is anticipated this will be approved at the Council's planning meeting in June 2017. ## Feathers Wharf WRWA currently operates a bulk waste transfer station (BWTS) at Cringle Dock which receives and bulks up green waste and recyclables. The facility comprises a combination of open bays and an ageing temporary transfer building. The materials brought to the BWTS are generated by the public delivering bulky waste and recyclables to the Household Waste Recycling Centre at Smugglers Way and by local businesses. However, as a result of the proposed redevelopment of Cringle Dock detailed above, ===== PAGE 31 ===== plans for the relocation of the BWTS have now been developed. These proposals involve replacing the Cringle Dock facility with a new modern BTWS at Feathers Wharf, Smugglers Way. This will assist in the logistics of any upgrade or redevelopment of Cringle Dock, by vacating land that could accommodate a temporary waste transfer facility to allow uninterrupted operation of the facility during any works to the existing wharf. Much of the material currently managed at the Cringle Dock BWTS originates from the WRWA Smugglers Way facilities. Moving the facility to Feathers Wharf, Smugglers Way, will remove another 2,200 HGV vehicles journeys each year from London's roads. The scheme makes beneficial use of an operational site at Feathers Wharf and provides for effective integration of related operations which have previously been carried out on different sites. The proposed operation will therefore complement the existing waste management functions at the Smugglers Way site, with beneficial utilisation of existing site access and on-site infrastructure (weighbridges, internal roads and traffic control system). In September 2015 a planning application was submitted to Wandsworth Council's Planning Committee to construct a new Bulk Waste Transfer station, to handle up to 25,000 tonnes of recyclable materials, on the southern part of the Feathers Wharf site. In November 2016 planning approval was received for an eight year period, commencing an occupation. In January 2017 a further planning application was submitted to extend the period of use until December 2032 and it is anticipated that this will be granted by the Planning Committee at their meeting in May 2017. The proposals provide a comprehensive scheme which combines the proposed BTWS with a current temporary permission for plant storage, with each having an independent access and haul road. The whole Feathers Wharf site will be upgraded by providing a new, good quality BWTS building, together with substantial new landscaping and biodiversity measures, as well as a new public riverside walkway. The proposed walkway is an exciting scheme to open up the river easement zone along the River Wandle and the River Thames as a public walkway. This also involves a significant refurbishment of the existing unused high level walkway which runs along the northern side of the existing Smugglers Way facility. This will connect up the existing riverside walkways to the east and west which will allow the public to walk along the riverside. ## Waste Management Strategy Review WRWA's previous Waste Management Policy was established within the framework of the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy which was agreed in 2006. It was, in large part, structured around WRWA providing the new infrastructure ===== PAGE 32 ===== needed to move material up the waste hierarchy – a phase that has now been substantially completed. In 2012, however, with the progress and changes resulting from WRWA's major programme of capital development, it became apparent that the Policy should be reviewed. A new joint high level policy document to guide future service provision and to clearly demonstrate continued partnership working was therefore drafted, with the assistance of the four boroughs, and the new Waste Policy was agreed in July 2013. This document sets out the agreed waste policy and defines the parameters within which waste will be managed within the Authority's area in a manner that will: embrace the concepts of waste prevention; seek to achieve a continued reduction in the amount of waste produced; increase the amount of waste that is re-used; • recycle, compost or recover energy from the waste that is collected; - minimise the environmental impact of transporting the waste; • encourage the creation of new, meaningful, job opportunities; - minimise disruption to others; and reduce costs of operations to provide the best possible deal for Council Tax payers. The full Waste Management Policy document can be found on the Authority's website. The development of future European, National and Regional waste priorities and strategies are currently at various stages of development and consultation and a new ‘London Plan’ is due to be published by the Mayor of London for consultation in the autumn of 2017. New waste recycling targets are expected to be announced as part of that process and the Authority will also be carrying out its own in-depth report on recycling during the summer of 2017. It is hoped that the final outcome of all of this work could ultimately lead to the development of a new Joint Waste Strategy between the Authority and the constituent councils during 2018. ## Sustainability statement Through its Waste Management Policy and the letting of its Waste Management Services Agreement with Cory Environmental Ltd the Authority has been able to significantly increase the proportion of waste from within its area that is reused and recycled and all of its residual waste is now used to recover energy at the Belvedere EfW Facility, rather than going to landfill. Following the Government’s waste hierarchy will generally lead to the most beneficial outcomes in terms of climate change and the overall reduction in the waste handled by WRWA (as shown in the graph in Section 7) has delivered the ===== PAGE 33 ===== greatest savings both environmentally and financially. In 2009 a study was carried out (using the Environment Agency's 'WRATE' life cycle analysis tool) to compare the global warming impact of the Belvedere EfW Facility and its river- based transportation system against an alternative road-based landfill solution and the river-based operation at the now closed Mucking landfill site. The results showing the global warming impacts (expressed in terms of kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalence) are shown in the graph above. This analysis shows the Belvedere EfW process to have a carbon benefit of over quarter of a million tonnes, a huge improvement on either of the other scenarios. The Authority will, through its future policies, continue to endeavour to further reduce the environmental impact of its waste management activities. ## Financial statement ## WRWA's responsibilities The Authority is required to ensure that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards, and that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for, and used economically, efficiently and effectively. It also has a duty under the Local Government Act 1999 to make arrangements to secure continuous improvements in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. A brief summary of the draft unaudited Financial Statements for 2016/17 is shown opposite. ## Auditors' report Ernst & Young LLP (EY), the Authority's previous external auditor, published its annual audit letter for the financial year 2015/16 in October 2016, in which it confirmed that it had: audited the Authority's accounts in line with the Auditing Practice Board's International Standards on Auditing (UK & Ireland) and issued an unqualified audit report on 28th September 2016 reviewed the Authority's Annual Governance Statement and found no areas of concern to report; ===== PAGE 34 ===== satisfied itself that, in all significant respects, Western Riverside Waste Authority has put in place proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ended 31 March 2016; and issued an unqualified value for money conclusion on 28th September 2016 in respect of the arrangements that the Authority has in place for securing financial resilience and also for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources. ## Summary of unaudited financial statements ## Balance sheet as at 31 March 2017

BALANCE SHEET	31-Mar-17
	£000
Buildings and land owned by WRWA	51,735
Money owed to WRWA	14,294
Money owed by WRWA	- 8,613
Long term loans	- 8,500
Pensions liability	- 4,138
TOTAL	44,778
Financed by:
Accounting reserves	31,898
General Fund balances	12,880
TOTAL	44,778
OPERATING COSTS AND INCOME:
Employee costs
Premises costs
General Waste disposal costs
Other supplies and payments
Total operating expenditure
Paid for by:
Tonnage charges from:
Hammersmith and Fulham
Kensington and Chelsea
Lambeth
Wandsworth
Total Tonnage charges
Other Income

===== PAGE 35 =====

## How can the public help? Below are some tips that everyone can use to recycle more effectively. ### 1. Please ignore the symbols on packaging Follow the Recycle Right guide opposite, or visit our website at www.wrwa.gov.uk to find out what can and cannot be recycled. 2. Also check out the website to find out why we can't recycle other materials in the recycling sacks and banks – including tops, lids and shredded paper. 3. Limit the packaging you use – try to avoid using plastic bags if possible. ===== PAGE 36 ===== 4. Wash out containers to avoid attracting animals, particularly if you store your recyclables outside. 5. Take responsibility, we can all make a difference. Remember that up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be reused or recycled. However you should not use your recycling sacks and banks for disposing of normal rubbish, as currently around 20% of the material we receive is on the □list which contaminates the rest. 6. Use your Household Waste and Recycling Centres. Although some of the material on the 'X' list cannot be recycled through the recycling sack and bank scheme, it may be possible to recycle it by taking it directly to your HWRC. ## Recycle Right guide What can I recycle in my clear sack or recycling bin? It couldn't be easier. Instead of throwing the items listed below into your general rubbish, just throw them into your clear sack or recycling bin. The items just need to be clean and dry, and if you're putting in bottles or jars please remove the lids first. Remember to Recycle Right by looking out for the materials below. Please do not put them into your clear sack or recycling bin. Paper, card & cardboard Glass bottles & jars Metal tins, cans & aerosols Plastic bottles, pots, tubs & trays Cartons & Tetra Pak\circledR Food waste Shredded paper Metal Polystyrene DIY material Nappies Wood Clothing & textiles Electricals & cables Foil Foil ===== PAGE 37 ===== ## Glossary ## Co-mingled recyclable material Mixed recyclable material that, in the WRWA area, is usually collected from the kerbside in a single clear sack. The Authority currently limits these materials to glass bottles and jars, clean paper and card, food and drinks cans, Tetra Paks and plastic bottles. Commercial waste (sometimes also referred to as Business or Trade waste) Waste from premises used wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade or business or for the purpose of sport, recreation, education or entertainment, but not including household, agricultural or industrial waste. ## Detritus Waste Is waste, generally from street sweeping or gully emptying operations, that requires some de-watering prior to its further treatment or disposal. ## EfW – Energy from Waste EfW facilities produce clean, renewable energy through the combustion of municipal solid waste in specially designed power plants equipped with the most modern pollution control equipment to ensure clean emissions. ## Environment Agency (EA) An agency established by statute to monitor and protect the environment. Its responsibilities include licensing of waste facilities and monitoring the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme. ## MRF (Materials Recycling Facility) Is a facility to sort mixed delivered recyclables into individual commodities with a view to securing maximum recycling and value. The Authority uses a "clean" MRF to sort co-mingled recyclable materials into individual material types. A "dirty" MRF sorts recyclable material from the general waste stream. ## Municipal Waste This term is generally meant to refer to all waste that is in the possession or under the control of a waste disposal or waste collection authority. Sometimes also referred to as Municipal Solid Waste. ## Recyclable materials Recyclable materials are materials that are capable of being recycled. Dry recyclable materials include paper, plastic, glass and cans which are either collected separately or mixed, or are deposited into on-street banks by the public. ===== PAGE 38 ===== ## Recycle Western Riverside (RWR) Is an outreach campaign which encourages residents to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle their rubbish (the three R's). The campaign has been running since 2002 and is funded by WRWA. ## Waste Collection Authority (WCA) The local authority (in London, the London Borough) responsible for collecting waste from households and certain commercial premises. ## Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) The local authority responsible for disposing of waste collected by the WCA. In London this can be either a joint waste disposal authority (e.g. WRWA) or a unitary authority. London Boroughs which are not a constituent member of a joint authority are both unitary disposal authorities and collection authorities. ## Waste hierarchy This is the Government's strategic order of preference for waste management under which, for instance, energy recovery and recycling is considered better than landfill. (This is described in more detail in Sections 2 and 3). WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (2002/96/EC)) The Directive aims to reduce the waste arising from electrical and electronic equipment, and improve the environmental performance of all those components involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic products. ## WMSA – Waste Management Services Agreement The Authority's long-term contract with Cory Environmental Ltd, now trading as Cory Riverside Energy More information about recycling and waste management in your area can be found on our website www.wrwa.gov.uk or in your local newsletter and/or newspaper. These are listed below. ## London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham The Hammersmith and Fulham Chronicle or Our Patch. Please visit www.lbhf.gov.uk for more information. ## Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea The Royal Borough Newspaper. Please visit www.rbkc.gov.uk for more information. London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth Talk. Please visit www.lambeth.gov.uk for more information. ===== PAGE 39 ===== London Borough of Wandsworth Brightside. Please visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk for more information. ## Contact us We are keen to hear from local people and other interested individuals or organisations and would positively welcome comments on this document. Comments about this annual report may be submitted to: The Clerk Western Riverside Waste Authority Town Hall Wandsworth High Street London SW18 2PU Tel: (020) 8871 6039 You can contact WRWA's Offices on 020 8871 2788 or via email at info@wrwa.gov.uk This report and other useful information about WRWA is available on our website www.wrwa.gov.uk