Merton and Wandsworth’s man at City Hall has been chosen by Boris Johnson to improve recycling and waste management in London.

Assembly Member Richard Tracey is the new chairman of the London Waste and Recycling Board, which has £26.3m of funding at its disposal, for the next four years.

Mr Tracey said his priorities would be to develop innovative projects which would make the board financially self-sufficient, find new sources of funding, and improve the capital’s recycling rate.

He said: “I hope that what we do will make a significant contribution to the London economy, and creating jobs and training opportunities for Londoners."

Over the last four years, the LWRB provided Merton Council with £292,770 to fund the food waste collection scheme.

A former environment minister during Margaret Thatcher’s time as prime minister, Mr Tracey was MP for Surbiton for 14 years and has served as Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth since 2008.