The other boroughs—that is to say the City of Westminster and the City of London along with Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston upon Thames, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and Tower Hamlets—are independent waste authorities in their own right.
The four boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton work together in a voluntary capacity as the South London Waste Partnership.
The ODPM proposed in 2006, as part of other transfers of powers to the Greater London Authority, to give it a waste function.
This has faced significant opposition from existing authorities.
[3] However, it has had significant support from all other sectors and the surrounding regions managing most of London's waste.