A former tip that became a recycle-only centre has been hailed a success after recycling rates there doubled.
Lambeth Council has also said fears the change at the Vale Street reuse and recycling centre in West Norwood would increase flytipping in the area have not been proved.
Some 212 tonnes of waste per month are now recycled at the centre, compared to 109 tonnes per month prior to the change in April this year.
Wood and hard plastics are among the 33 materials recyclable at the centre.
Residents feared unscrupulous builders and people not willing to travel to the nearest tip in Battersea to dump waste would lead to an upturn in flytipping.
But the council said flytipping rates had fallen due to an action plan which includes a free bulky waste pickup service, and increased enforcement and surveillance in the area.
The council created the recycle centre to reduce the amount of the borough’s waste going to landfill, and to crackdown on unscrupulous builders posing as residents who illegally dumped commercial waste there.
Councillor Sally Prentice, cabinet member for environment on Lambeth Council, said: “Every tonne of waste Lambeth Council has to send to landfill costs Lambeth council tax payers £40 in landfill tax - and this cost is going up year on year - so recycling more of our waste is essential not just for the environmental reasons, but for financial ones too.”
However the recycling centre is still unpopular with people who need to visit a tip, which they argue is not environmentally friendly due to the distance they now have to travel.
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