Councils have a statutory duty to treat municipal waste, and we have chosen to extend our contract with the SELCHP as part of our wider approach to waste management, which focuses on reducing, reusing and recycling first and foremost, in line with the waste hierarchy. For waste that can’t be recycled, SELCHP provides an efficient, cost-effective and controlled way of disposing with rubbish that would otherwise end up in landfill, whilst recovering energy from the waste in the form of electricity and heat.   

Landfilling makes up a large proportion of harmful emissions arising from non-recyclable waste management and is the least effective way to manage waste. SELCHP has diverted over 10 million tonnes of waste from landfill, and reduced CO2 emissions by 7,700 tonnes per year.  

Whilst the controlled recovery of energy from waste does generate emissions, there’s ultimately an overall net reduction because of the electricity generated by the turbines and the heat captured from the boilers, which heats thousands of local homes and reduces the need to burn fossil fuels elsewhere.   

Energy from waste plants, like SELCHP, are closely regulated by the Environment Agency to minimise any risks to the environment or health.

Reducing, reusing and recycling are still the best ways to reduce your waste carbon footprint, and we’re strongly committed to supporting local residents and businesses to do this and cut down on harmful materials, such as single-use plastics.  

Following its Towards Zero Waste consultation with residents, the Royal Borough of Greenwich is introducing fortnightly general waste collections from 2023 and a stricter contamination policy to increase the quality and quantity of recycling collected at the kerbside. Recycling, food and garden waste bins will still be collected weekly. The Council already collaborates with Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice to run the rePurpose shop at its Reuse and Recycling Centre that up-cycles pre-owned belongings that would otherwise be thrown away with profits going to the hospice.  

The London Borough of Lewisham has developed and approved a new Waste Management Strategy for 2021-2031 in consultation with local residents and businesses, which focuses on moving towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer. This strategy will build on Lewisham Council’s ongoing work to encourage residents to reduce, reuse and recycle resources, which includes running educational workshops, introducing fortnightly waste collections for kerbside properties and weekly food waste collections, collecting unwanted mattresses and old Christmas trees for free, and setting up an environmental crime team to tackle fly-tipping, graffiti, littering and other forms of waste crime in the borough.  

The decision to extend the contract with SELCHP, which began in 1991, was approved by Lewisham Council’s and the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Mayor and Cabinets in December 2020. You can read the full report here.