Labour’s vice Chair of the Environment Committee on the London Assembly, Murad Qureshi AM, said:

“At first sight, it appears from this so called “launch” that Boris has come up with entirely new funding and a new concept.  In fact, the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWaRB) has been around since 2008 and there is a substantial sum of money which is simply being passed on from them to this new management fund.  Basically, the Mayor has now decided to pass the buck to an external body to spend the money for him…………questions need to be asked about why this funding has laid idle until now when the recycling economy offers so much potential in terms of both environmental and financial benefits”

The Mayor announced funding of £70 million which will finance a low carbon waste and recycling infrastructure.  The fund will be managed by asset managers Foresight Group and is made up of £35million from the London Green Fund and £35 million from local authority pension funds and other unnamed “investors”.

One of the major contributors to the London Green Fund will be LWARB who are providing £18 million towards one tranche of £35m and whose job it is to manage and provide initiatives for waste recycling for the capital including the delivery of waste infrastructure.

Ends

Notes

Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member and is Vice Chair of the Assembly’s Environment Committee

For further information please contact Nikki Salih on 020 7983 4400