Sustainable urban waste management through the lens of service users

The Westminster City Council (London, UK) recycling rate has been fluctuating between 19% and 25% over a ten-year period from 2011 to 2021, which is below the 50% threshold target for household waste set by the UK government. This research aimed to investigate the issues surrounding the low recycling rate to inform the design and implementation of an effective waste management policy. The key research questions are: what are the barriers to achieving a high recycling rate in the City of Westminster and how can these barriers be removed? The research used mixed methods to collect data through residents’ online surveys, residents’ interviews, and council staff interviews. The quantitative analysis revealed that age, education, and type of residence have an impact on the survey respondents’ recycling activities. While the results of the merged qualitative analysis of the residents’ interviews and the staff interviews indicate that the following factors are affecting the council recycling rate: physical factors, communication, public engagement, human factors, service constraints, and policy constraints. Findings from the research allowed a sustainable recycling indicator (simplified model) to emerge as a functional tool to increase the council recycling rate. It is concluded that despite positive human behaviours, most of the residents surveyed or interviewed continued to face situational barriers bordering on physical factors and the level of recycling service provided by the council has affected the council recycling rate. The sustainable recycling indicator provides opportunities for the council and other urban local authorities to increase their recycling rate. Suggestions to improve the recycling rate were categorised into three groups under the local waste planning policy, recycling service, and national waste legislation. These recommendations are mainly centred on improving the council recycling service and implementing new local planning policies to increase recycling storage capacities in new and refurbished developments.

Appendix V has been redacted.