At a meeting of the West London Waste Authority (WLWA), held on 16 September 2025, the board agreed to disburse £3 million of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recycling processing funds to boroughs, and approved spending up to £300,000 on consultancy support for communal collections. They also approved an additional £2 million for transfer bays at Victoria Road to manage additional materials and increase system resilience. The board also discussed a potential Emissions Trading Scheme levy.

WLWA Business Plan and EPR Funding

The WLWA is working to deliver whole system cost improvements as a single virtual waste authority and manage upcoming risk, and create opportunity from legislative change.

The timeline for the implementation of the legislative change is:

• 2026 Simpler Recycling - All properties (Kerbside, communal and flats above shops) to have residual waste, paper and card separately collected from recycling and food waste.
• 2027 Flexible plastics (Simpler Recycling) - collection of flexible plastics (film, packets and sachets).
• 2028 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) - additional cost of fossil carbon processed through Energy from Waste (EfW) plants (c.99% of WLWA residual goes to EfW).

The EPR funding of £11.3m to WLWA and a combined c.£34m provides West London an opportunity to invest in the waste collection and processing system to reduce costs now and mitigate the longer term risks associated with waste growth and ETS.

The board made the following decisions relating to the WLWA 2025-26 Business Plan and EPR funding plan:

• To note that the Authority will work with Borough Directors on the establishment of a formal Strategic Partnership Board dedicated to a whole system investment approach.
• To approve the disbursement of £3m EPR recycling processing fund to Boroughs on the PackUK EPR payments mechanism or Council tax base if unavailable by the end of the financial year.
• To approve up to £300k for consultancy support to complete communal collections and infrastructure business cases with WLWA and Boroughs jointly to optimise the investment of the £6m EPR funding.
• To approve the additional £2m spend on the transfer bays at Victoria Rd to manage additional materials and increase system resilience.
• To approve the development of an Emissions Trading scheme levy to protect our current method of incentivising waste reduction with the addition of incentivising fossil carbon reduction.

The report noted that the financial implications of not creating and delivering change are set out in the budget in the medium-term financial strategy (MTFS). Costs to Boroughs are anticipated to increase by c.£34m per annum by 2030:

• £20m per annum (+/- £10m) by 2028 due to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
• c.£14.6m per annum by 2030 due to waste growth.
• Failure to implement simpler recycling risks a 20% reduction in funding from the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.

Peter Tilston, Director of Circular Economy and Net Zero, said that working together will make it easier for WLWA and Boroughs to maximise opportunities and minimise costs, and that collection and disposal infrastructure will be required irrespective of the project. He noted that infrastructure lead in times can be 3 years if planning permission is needed, and that WLWA has been preparing for several years and has excellent data to inform the decisions and monitor the impacts of change.

The report noted that the main compliance issues Boroughs will face in 2026 is ensuring all properties are receiving the mandatory Simpler Recycling collections¹.

Finance Update

The board received an update on financial and operational matters. The report noted that the budget monitoring report for June 2025 shows a year end forecast with a surplus of £0.07 million, but that a £1.5m overspend has been recognised in the full year forecast for landfill charges, in comparison to the budget of £0.6 million.

The board approved the Director of Finance continuing to undertake the Treasurer role until the end of September 2025, and noted the revision to Statutory Chief Officers' conditions, the KPIs, and the movement in reserves in relation to the EPR funding, subject to approval in the WLWA Business Plan and EPR Update paper.

The board also noted the Treasury Management outturn for 2024/25 and update for 2025/26, and approved the Treasury Management Policy and Strategy. They also noted and commented on the amendments made to the Financial Regulations.

The report noted that the Authority charges the boroughs two types of levies:

• The Pay as You Throw (PAYT) levy which covers all borough and trade waste, and this is reconciled quarterly, with any waste growth charged to the boroughs, and waste reduction credited.
• The Fixed Cost Levy (FCL) covers all waste disposed of at HRRCs², and the operational costs of the Authority, including depreciation and financing. This is apportioned to boroughs according to their council tax base, with no in-year reconciliation.

The report noted that the overall performance for the first quarter of 2025/26 shows a surplus of £1.4 million compared to budget, with the year-end forecast expected to end on a surplus of £0.07 million. The underspend is largely driven by lower waste volumes, in particular residual waste. In line with the levy models above £0.4 million was paid back to boroughs in the first quarter, due to PAYT waste volumes being lower than budgeted. The Authority has anticipated volumes to be close to budget for the remainder of the year, as it is too early to determine if volumes will continue to be lower.

The SERC³ annual maintenance commenced in mid-June for a period of one month. Whilst the maintenance has taken place, the contractor has sent 3,067 tonnes to landfill which is approximately 1% of the contracted waste. The contractor has used their full contractual allowance to disposal to landfill, and alternative treatment deemed to be landfill of 3.9% contracted waste. This has resulted in an overspend of £1.5 million against budget, which has been included within the year-end forecast, resulting in the overall surplus of £0.07 million.

The report also noted that whilst the first quarter demonstrates savings on Employee costs and Supplies and Services, this is not expected to continue as the Authority recruits to vacant posts to support delivery on its strategic priorities. The Authority is anticipating an overspend on Employee costs of £0.2 million by the end of the financial year reflective of transitional adjustments as part of an overall staffing restructure.

The Treasury Management Policy and Strategy has been developed to optimise the Authority's financial resources, ensuring liquidity, minimising risk, supporting the strategic priorities and strategic growth objectives. The strategy is designed to maintain transparency and enhance financial oversight, thereby safeguarding public resources and promoting fiscal responsibility.

The Financial Regulations of the Authority provides the framework for managing finances and safeguarding assets. It details the roles, responsibilities and procedures for each key role and area of financial activity and asset management.

Contracts and Operations Update

The board received an update on the Authority's existing contracts and operations for managing waste.

The report noted that the planned outage of Severnside Energy Recovery Centre (part of the WLERL contract) went well, and despite the duration and complexity of the work, it was completed on time, with minimal disruption to the Boroughs' tipping arrangements. The facility has been operating well since the outage ended. During the outage 3,067 tonnes (approximately three days' worth) of residual waste had to be sent to landfill due to a lack of capacity at alternative energy recovery facilities. This is approximately 1% of the residual waste that the contract will manage over a year. A further 11,893 tonnes was sent to alternative energy recovery facilities during the outage.

The report also noted that Viridor's fleet of energy recovery facilities have experienced a number of unplanned outages since March, coinciding with some planned maintenance in April and May, which has placed some additional pressure on the WLERL transfer stations. A procurement is being considered for residual waste from the Borough HRRCs and transfer stations, which would reduce pressure on the existing residual waste contracts and add a contingency option when operational issues occur.

The report noted that Abbey Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre (HRRC) and Waste Transfer Station (WTS) is owned and operated by WLWA, and that the HRRC is run on behalf of Brent Council.

A critical number of unexpected staff absences occurred at the end of June. Waste inputs from Borough collection vehicles and trade waste customers were diverted to alternative sites allowing the HRRC to continue operating as normal.

Focused effort on recruitment and training has taken place and the site now has a resilient level of staff, including some agency and temporary employees.

Improvement works have taken place on the site's infrastructure, equipment and systems during this quieter period. Site health, safety and environmental rules have also been updated to reflect the changes and ensure best practice.

Plans are in place to increase inputs from Boroughs in September. Options for reintroducing trade waste are currently being considered.

Following consultation with Borough partners, the timescales for the West London HRRC programme have been extended by twelve months.

Chief Officer Posts

The board approved the appointment of Peter Tilston as the Authority's interim Managing Director until 31st March 2026, and endorsed the suggested recruitment process for the Managing Director post.

The board delegated to a Recruitment Committee comprising Councillor Krupa Sheth, Chair of the Authority, and Councillor Julia Neden Watts, Vice-Chair of the Authority, the decision to appoint to the Managing Director post and agree the starting salary. The Committee is to be chaired by Councillor Krupa Sheth, Chair of the Authority, and supported by the Clerk and Treasurer.

The board agreed to the immediate appointment of Ian O'Donnell as the Authority's Treasurer.