Recycling rates vary hugely across Kent

by James Scott

Ashford has retained its title as the country's worst place for recycling - but council bosses said its record would improve next year.

For the third year in a row, Ashford Borough Council comes bottom in a list of more than 350 authorities in statistics released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today.

The figures show the authority recycled, reused or composted just 14% of housewold waste - an average of 679.5kg of waste per household last year.

The highest-achieving Kent council for recycling was Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, which achieved 46.7%.

Maidstone Borough Council, which recorded a rate of 44.6%, was one of the most improved councils in the country since signing a new waste contract.

Ashford fell just behind Lewisham in south London, where 17.2% of waste was recycled, while the nation's top performing authority was Vale of White Horse District Council in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, which recycled 68.7% of waste.

However, Ashford council acknowledged it needs to improve recycling and insists a new service, set to be signed with Biffa, will make a difference.

Deputy leader Cllr Gerry Clarkson (Con) said: "We know that Ashford has fallen behind the rest of the country, and we have a duty to catch up.

"That is why we have planned to greatly improve our recycling, by the introduction of a new recycling service in 2013.

"The new service will bring Ashford's recycling performance from 14% to 37% by 2014/15, and potentially even higher in the future."

As well as the black sack collection, Ashford has a blue box scheme allowing 39,000 - or around two-thirds - of the borough's households to recycle paper, glass, tins, cans and textiles.

Although this was expanded by 9,000 homes last year, the recycling figure showed no change between last year and this year.

A council spokesman said as the expansion was only rolled out in June, the full impact was not shown in the figures.

He added it received no credit for waste recycled at supermarkets and the household waste centre at Cobbs Wood Industrial Estate because it is run by Kent County Council.

From April next year, the new 10-year joint service which will be run with Maidstone Borough Council and Swale Borough Council, will allow residents to recycle food waste on a weekly basis and additional materials such as plastics, cardboard and Tetra Pak packaging.

It is also due to save the council £500,000 per year on waste collection amd £100,000 a year on street cleaning.