The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) comprises seven North London districts (boroughs) covering a population of nearly 1.9 million residents. The NLWA is responsible for helping the seven North London boroughs dispose of the 827 000 tonnes of waste they collect every year. In 2012 the NLWA established a team of waste advisers with the objective to deliver the waste prevention message through direct contact with residents (partially or fully replacing an equivalent team in each of the boroughs). The team consists of five people, works according to an elaborated plan and is funded through levies coming from boroughs for disposal costs.
The team is guided by a plan of activity for two years with an associated budget and works in close partnership with all NLWA boroughs. The elaboration of the plan starts in June of the previous year with a number of consultation meetings with the seven borough councils. At this stage the discussions are more strategic; the aim is to define the global priorities for the period to come. Several considerations are taken into account: EU and national policies, legislation, available research evidence, etc. The starting point is the waste hierarchy which means that the main aim is always to prevent and reduce waste at source. In consultation with different stakeholders, a decision is taken on where to focus the actions in the upcoming period. This decision prioritises waste streams by taking into account several aspects, i.e. whether:
- they are generated in large quantities;
- they have high tonnage diversion potential;
- they provide financial savings to residents;
- they are difficult to reintroduce into production cycles;
- regulatory and legislative instruments already exist;
- they have seen a significant increase in generation in the recent years; and
- they are emblematic waste streams that provide the opportunity to promote further waste prevention and recycling messages.
Once the priority streams are decided, four types of measures and instruments are identified – technical, economic, educational/behaviour and organisational (involving various stakeholders and institutions) – and a number of concrete actions are derived from these measures and instruments. Once the key programme of activity is developed according to this procedure, another consultation phase starts with all relevant bodies in order to identify concrete steps for implementation on the ground. This phase also allows identification of similar ongoing actions in order to combine and optimise resources. This is also a time to define which actions are going to be performed in-house and which will be subcontracted.
Priorities emerged based on reduction of waste streams, with each person in the team having a specific focus:
- two people are in direct contact with the citizens (recycling and engagement waste prevention officers);
- two people deal mostly with subcontractors and other stakeholders and organisations performing waste prevention activities (waste prevention officers);
- one person coordinates and manages the work, and is responsible for the preparation, execution and evaluation of the work programme.
The programme itself is constantly reviewed and monitored, and there is an effort to evaluate the outcomes and to measure what can be achieved and improved. There is also a continuous communication and exchange with relevant actors: every two to three months regular updates are provided to key stakeholders, bilateral meetings with members of each borough are held twice a year, etc. The waste prevention officers themselves hold quarterly meetings in order to coordinate, exchange information and share best practices for waste prevention, recycling and education. At the end of each implementation period a final report and a brochure are produced to provide a summary of the year’s activities. These documents are widely distributed to all involved and interested stakeholders.
Training is delivered during the first six months in the position. It involves information on how the areas operate, many site visits (reuse and recycling centres, material recycling facilities, etc.), as well as individual meetings with representatives of each of the seven boroughs.
The idea for the future is that waste prevention officers not only deliver trainings, knowledge and information to other people/organisations, but that they also act as “enablers” – enabling others to deliver and the local community to be able to set up and run projects itself. The focus will therefore not be on getting more staff in-house, but to enhance what others are already doing to complement and increase the overall impact.