On the same day he announced his support for the Mayor of London's new Recycle for London campaign, top DJ Neil Fox also opened the launch seminar for London Green Points. Neil was recently appointed 'ambassador' for London Green Points and the message from the briefing seminar is that there is a high level of support from boroughs in London for the approach being taken by the London Green Points scheme.

The briefing seminar, held at the Western Riverside Materials Recycling Facility in Wandsworth, brought together waste and recycling professionals from across the capital who learnt of the progress being made with the scheme in Bexley and future plans for how the London Green Points scheme could be introduced more widely across the city.

The London Borough of Bexley was recently awarded grant funding from the London Waste and Recycling Board to implement the scheme, which will see the first phase launched to flats in the Thamesmead area.

With the Bexley scheme due to go live in the summer, Local Green Points provided details of the scheme and the vision for London Green Points. Attendees included representatives from London councils, the Mayor of London's Office, DEFRA, WRAP, waste contractors plus other bodies including the London Community Recycling Network.

As well as Neil Fox, other speakers included the co-founders of Local Green Points, Stephen Bates and Graham Simmonds; founding advisor Andrew Whiteman and Rebecca Goodwin from London Borough of Bexley.

Rebecca Goodwin, Waste Minimisation and Recycling Officer at Bexley explained to delegates why the council were keen to introduce the scheme; 'Although Bexley performs very well with diversion, we know this borough-wide performance is not reflected in Thamesmead and to a slightly lesser extent in other flatted communities. The ability to include a scheme such as this within a traditionally hard-to-reach area, its implicit simplicity and its strong community component made the Local Green Points scheme a compelling option'.

Graham Simmonds, Co-founder and Partner at Local Green Points, reported that work was well underway in Bexley with local retailers and community groups being recruited and that an announcement on an official launch date would be made over the next few weeks.

Andy Whiteman of RWA commented on the 'absolute need for transparency in the way the scheme operates. We need to always be aware that we are not just spending public money but also giving some of it back in the form of rewards. The data and methods that drive this have been developed to withstand the highest level of scrutiny.'

One of the barriers to entry for local authorities wanting to introduce waste incentive schemes has traditionally been the high level of initial investment needed and the length of time before a return can be achieved. Stephen Bates provided insight into the London Green Points scheme approach; 'There is no one-size-fits-all solution to waste management and our scheme is designed to be flexible so that it can meet the local needs, both practically and financially; in particular our approach aims to minimise the financial risk as far as possible for participating councils, and deliver a financial and environmental savings within a relatively short time period.'

With the Bexley scheme in hand and confirmation that Local Green Points is in discussion with other local authorities both in London and across the UK, delegates heard from Graham Simmonds about future plans to incentivise other pro-environmental actions. “Whilst waste is leading the way, our aim is also to work with authorities in London to help boost sustainable energy use, public transport and so on” says Simmonds

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