Islington Council's recycling rates are falling short of targets, a performance report presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee revealed.
The target for household waste recycling for the full 2025/26 financial year is 36%. In the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, the borough's household waste recycling rate stood at 33.9%, below the target. While this represents an improvement from the previous quarter, it remains a key area of concern.
Despite efforts to improve waste management, including an investment of £2m in estate-based recycling
, the recycling rate remains below the target. The council is developing a new Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan for 2026, informed by a Scrutiny Committee review and resident engagement. Additionally, a waste stream tonnage audit
revealed that non-household waste (street market and municipal waste) was being co-collected with household waste, which has since been corrected, improving the figures. The North London Joint Waste Strategy has also been approved by Islington and other participating boroughs.
Future initiatives to boost recycling rates include the new Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan for 2026
, which will be informed by a Scrutiny Committee review and resident engagement. Furthermore, a gold communications campaign
focusing on estates ran in October and November. Work is also progressing on the Flats Above Shops Food Waste project
, with a statutory requirement to provide this service by April 2026.
The meeting information does not provide projected rates for the remaining quarters of the 2025/26 financial year.
This performance report was presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as detailed in the Public reports pack 05th-Feb-2026 19.30 Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
