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Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another clash of the Titans in The MJ boxing arena. In the red corner is Ken ‘the mayor' Livingstone, a political heavyweight who has been knocking them out for the count since the 1980s. He's a tough opponent and should not be underestimated. Just remember what happened when he took on Frank ‘the contender' Dobson. And in the blue corner is newcomer, London ‘the boys' Councils, a young boxer who has been making real waves recently, punching ‘a-borough above' his weight. It's seconds out and they are straight in there, slugging it out over whether London should have a single waste authority. The mayor has been after a single authority for some time, and there have been moves afoot to take waste powers away from the boroughs as part of the Greater London Authority Bill. ‘The only way to deal with the vast amount of waste we produce in this city is to have a London-wide body,' says the mayor. ‘If we measure our capital against other major global cities, London recycles only 21% of its household waste – compared with San Francisco, Melbourne, Los Angeles or Seattle, which recycle more than 50%, or the best European cities, such as Berlin, which recycles almost 40%. London Councils is fiddling while waste burns or is buried, instead of being recycled.' It's a body blow, but the London Councils boys are not on the floor quite yet. They've even started to fight back. ‘All urban authorities struggle to achieve high recycling rates,' says London Councils chairman, Merrick Cockell. ‘But London's boroughs are rising to the challenge and improving, year on year. ‘Local understanding is key to meeting the many challenges faced in the capital – understanding that would be lost if waste powers were transferred from boroughs to the mayor.' In 2005/6, the capital's boroughs sent 362kg of waste per head of population to landfil, while the rest of England sent an average of 370kg. ‘London Councils' research has trawled through the available data on recycling and all this has managed to show is that half of London councils are recycling less than Barnsley,' replies the mayor. ‘We cannot go on like this. We are the major global city in western Europe and we should be at the cutting edge of recycling.' Furthermore, the mayor is not happy about how hazardous waste from households is being handled. According to a study by Imperial College London, up to 10,500 tonnes of hazardous waste are produced by the capital's households every year, but in 2005, only 200 tonnes were collected and disposed of in specialist incinerators. ‘There is no doubt that London's waste-management system is lagging behind the rest of Britain and Europe, yet the Environment Department is unwilling to make the changes we need,' argues Mr Livingstone. Fortunately, London Councils has the backing of environment minister, Ben Bradshaw, who has rejected calls for a single authoriy. ‘Recycling is a flagship local authority service, vital to residents' perceptions of their borough,' says Mr Bradshaw. ‘And the Government believes recycling should continue to be managed at local level.' Cllr Cockell also has the added bonus of research from accountant KPMG, which estimates that a single authority would cost the capital an extra £5.5m every year. ‘The challenges faced in London cannot be met by one man alone, but need us all to work together in a considered and effective way,' he adds. Both sides are matching each other, punch for punch. With the Greater London Authority Bill still going through parliament, the two of them could be fighting it out for some time to come.

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CLIMATE CHANGE

A clean fight for

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