Climate and Ecology Strategy annual report - 2024 Things we use

Tackling climate change requires us to reduce our consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions – the emissions caused by the things we buy, use, and dispose of. The council seeks to promote sustainable consumption within the council and across the borough by promoting the six key principles of a circular economy: to rethink, reduce, reuse, redistribute, repair, and recycle the things we use.

Progress in H&F

2024 saw H&F take effective action to drive the transition towards a circular economy forward. This has cut emissions, delivered cost-efficiencies and stimulated jobs and skills in green industries. We are proud to have shown leadership as one of the authorities leading the One World Living programme, which brings London boroughs together to support the growth of a circular economy across the capital.

Rethinking and reducing

  • The council switched the lightbulbs in more than 450 buildings in the borough to energy-efficient LED lightbulbs. This will cut carbon emissions by approximately 122 tonnes every year – equivalent to 120 return flights from London to New York – and save £540,000 in annual bills.
  • We have reduced the amount of stationery we buy, cutting spending by 54% in a single year.

Redistributing

  • H&F's Library of Things enables residents to borrow a wide range of items, from carpet cleaners to cooking equipment, at a cheap rate. The scheme has avoided 33 tonnes of waste, 97 tonnes of carbon emissions and saved residents £668,000.
  • Hammersmith BID (Business Improvement District) hosted several Community Clothing Swaps during 2024, avoiding 0.28 tonnes of pre-loved clothing from going to waste.

Reusing

  • Eco-Refill Shops were launched at two H&F primary schools in 2024, St John XXIII and Larmenier and Sacred Heart. The shops, which enable residents to refill empty containers with household essentials such as handwash, prevent plastic waste and teach pupils about sustainability.

• Refill Station - St John XXIII: A group of children and the Mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham Council stand in a playground in front of a table with refillable bottles and containers.

Primary school pupils running an Eco-Refill Shop are joined by H&F Mayor Patricia Quigley.

Repairing

  • The council is funding monthly repair cafes at the Livat Centre so that residents can have their electrical devices fixed at low or no cost.
  • We funded repair initiatives with our Climate Action Microgrants scheme, such as sewing workshops at Ark White City school. Pupils gained repair skills and learnt about sustainable consumption by upcycling old garments.

A young person holds a hand-sewn yellow bag.

A bag created at a sewing workshop for young people in H&F.

Recycling

  • In 2024 recycling services in H&F were significantly improved and expanded. We started rolling out new wheeled recycling bins and food waste caddies to more than 50,000 households and launched a new garden waste collection service.
  • This led to record recycling rates in H&F, with monthly collections rising from 391 tonnes in 2023 to 1,482 tonnes in 2024. Monthly food waste collections increased from 29 to 169 tonnes between January 2023 and November 2024, resulting in six times more food waste being sent for anaerobic digestion to create renewable energy, and therefore reducing landfill gases like methane and carbon dioxide.
  • We installed a network of collection points for residents to recycle batteries, vapes and textiles, and launched a mobile recycling centre, which moves around H&F to collect small electrical goods for reuse and recycling.

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