Request ID: FOI-3923-2324 Date published: 23 February 2024
You asked
Dear Sir/Madam
Please can you assist with the following FOI request
1. How is waste collected and disposed of on the TfL network? ie does TfL have in house bin collection crews and how and where does it dispose of waste
2. For each stream of material disposed of please provide details about the destination of the waste eg are paper and plastics recycled in the UK and if so where, where does the general waste go etc
3. How much of TfL’s waste (percentage) was recycled over each of the last three financial years
4. How much waste (in tonnes) was disposed of in each of the last three years as general waste
5. How much waste (in tonnes) was recycled in each of the last three years
6. How much waste was sent to landfill in percentage and also in tonnes over each of the last three years (in tonnes and as a percentage)
7. How much waste was incinerated over each of the last three years (in tonnes and as a percentage)
8. Which TfL locations ie bus stations and tube stations etc have separated recycling collection facilities
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-3923-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 30th January 2024 asking for information about TfL waste management. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
How is waste collected and disposed of on the TfL network? ie does TfL have in house bin collection crews and how and where does it dispose of waste
For each stream of material disposed of please provide details about the destination of the waste eg are paper and plastics recycled in the UK and if so where, where does the general waste go etc
How much of TfL’s waste (percentage) was recycled over each of the last three financial years
How much waste (in tonnes) was disposed of in each of the last three years as general waste
How much waste (in tonnes) was recycled in each of the last three years
How much waste was sent to landfill in percentage and also in tonnes over each of the last three years (in tonnes and as a percentage)
How much waste was incinerated over each of the last three years (in tonnes and as a percentage)
Which TfL locations ie bus stations and tube stations etc have separated recycling collection facilities
I am afraid it is not possible to source all of the information to answer your questions within the costs limit for responding to FOI cases, as set out under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Under section 12, TfL is not obliged to provide information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if the requested information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract it from elsewhere. This is calculated at a rate of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work.
In this instance the exemption applies because the requested information has not been collated before and there is no quick or particularly efficient way of doing so. You have asked eight separate questions covering the entirety of the “TfL network”. The request therefore covers the London Underground, London Overground, the Elizabeth Line, the Docklands Light Railway; trams, buses, the cable car, Dial A Ride, river services and Victoria coach station. This network is made up of a mixture of services run by directly by TfL and those contracted out to third parties. There is no single “waste management” service, but a range of different arrangements across the various different modes and facilities. Just trying to determine exactly what is and is not held in relation to your request is a difficult task, notwithstanding the need to then collate what is held. While it is difficult to estimate exactly how long this would take, we believe it would be significantly in excess of the 18 hour limit.
In order to bring your request within the costs limit you may wish to narrow its scope to focus on the information that is of most importance to you. For example, you may wish to limit the request to a specific mode, and to reduce the number of questions asked.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
