WLWA’s Innovation Forum explores new approaches to communal recycling

Our recently launched Innovation Forum brings suppliers and borough partners together to explore new ways to improve recycling and waste separation at communal properties.

We invited proposals through the Find a Tender service, looking for technology, behaviour change approaches and new service models that could help residents separate their waste correctly and increase the amount captured for recycling.

We received 14 proposals, with six suppliers shortlisted to present their ideas to an evaluation panel made up of representatives from WLWA and our borough partners on 12 November.

The shortlisted proposals cover a broad range of approaches, including:

• behaviour change techniques to help residents make the right choice when disposing of their waste
• access-controlled bins designed to encourage recycling and discourage fly-tipping
• better data and monitoring to identify lower-performing communal properties
• smart technology that can be retrofitted to existing bins
• modular waste and recycling systems incorporating signage and access controls
• doorstep waste collections for residents in communal blocks, with waste then separated into the appropriate containers.

From ideas to practical trials

The forum is designed to give WLWA and its borough partners an opportunity to explore innovative approaches and understand how they could work in practice.

Following the presentations, there will be opportunities to work further with suppliers and potentially develop pilots or trials to test promising ideas in real-world settings.

Successful approaches could ultimately be considered for wider use across west London, helping us and our borough partners improve recycling from communal properties.

Photo by Cristobal Martinez on Unsplash.