THREE companies are set to benefit from a boom in recycling of organic waste by residents in north London.

LondonWaste, which manages the rubbish generated in seven boroughs, including Barnet, has handed out the extra contracts to help keep up with the demands from food and garden rubbish.

It will continue to process around 30,000 tonnes at a composting site in Edmonton, but has asked TEG Environmental, County Mulch and Viridor to help take the other 30-40,000 tonnes generated each year.

Last year, 10,000 tonnes of compost was produced at the Edmonton site, with 4,000 tonnes going back to community projects and the rest used in agriculture inside the M25 belt.

David Sargent, LondonWaste’s managing director, said “North London residents are diligently recycling their food and garden waste and it is thanks to them we were able to divert 70,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill last year.

“It is great that we can also give something back to the residents. Within 16 weeks of green waste arriving at our compost centre, it is turned into peat-free compost, enabling thousands of tonnes of the nutrient-rich material to be returned to the community for use in allotments, parks, gardens, farms and other open spaces.”

The contracts start on April 1 and last for an initial three-year period.