Currently 36% of waste produced in N London goes to landfill and the tax levied on waste going to landfill sites will rise from £48 per tonne to £56 per tonne on the 1st April 2011,

On average, each household produces one tonne of landfill waste per year.

Prior to 1986, the GLC had responsibility for the management of London's waste. After the abolition of the GLC a statutory waste disposal authority, the North London Waste Authority, (NLWA) was set up.

Currently, the NLWA's waste disposal services are delivered through LondonWaste Ltd, of which the NLWA secured total ownership in November 2009 when it acquired SITA UK's 50% share in the company.

LondonWaste's operation are focused on an incinerator and in-vessel composting facility at its Edmonton Incinerator site, with the rest of the NLWA's residual waste being sent to landfill sites in the Home Counties.

The NLWA handles the waste disposal for seven North London local authorities - Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest - and, in 2008/09, dealt with over 900,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste.

It is aiming to procure treatment and recycling facilities which will allow it to divert 400,000 tonnes of waste a year from landfill by 2020.