Allington Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) opened on Monday (9 May), with the aim of helping residents of Tonbridge and Malling, as well as Maidstone, recycle more.
Kent County Council (KCC) Chairman, Lesley Game, cut the ribbon at the new Allington HWRC ahead of its opening to the public.
KCC announced that the new recycling centre is designed to operate without interruption, to ‘ensure maximum efficiency’ – functioning on two levels to allow for full waste containers to be removed safely, whilst residents use the site to deposit recyclables and waste.
According to Kent County Council, the design of the HWRC also incorporates ‘environmentally friendly features’ such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting. It says that the centre’s construction used aggregate that is a recycled composite, consisting of plastic bags that had been thrown away.
Allington Household Waste Recycling Centre has been shortlisted for a gong in the ‘best use of design and technology at a waste management facility’ category at the Awards for Excellence in Recycling & Waste Management.
The facility also offers a new access junction off Laverstoke Road, to the north of the existing priority junction.
As well as the usual recycling bins, there will also be a reuse service starting later this year – the centre will have an allocated ‘reuse space’ to place items that still have life left in them, so they can be reused.
Before Allington’s construction, KCC had 18 HWRCs, providing facilities for residents to recycle and dispose of more than 30 different types of waste. Each year, Kent’s household waste sites receive ‘approximately 140,000 tonnes of waste and offer more than three million bookable slots.’
KCC contracted FCC Environment to provide the management and operation of the HWRCs in the mid and east Kent area in November 2020. The five-year contract also covers the haulage of waste from the HWRC sites and three transfer stations.
Residents are now able to book appointments to visit the new Allington site online.
KCC’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Susan Carey, said: “Kent County Council’s investment in this new site, our 19th in Kent, underlines the council’s commitment to the environment and to helping our residents recycle.
“The Allington Household Waste Recycling Centre is truly ‘state of the art’ and meets a long-held ambition to provide an extra recycling centre in this part of Kent.”
Steve Longdon, Operations Director, FCC Environment said: “FCC Environment is one of the UK’s most trusted resource and waste management businesses. We operate some 100 Household Waste and Recycling Centres so we consider ourselves to be a safe pair of hands.
“But designing and building new facilities with the public needs at their heart is a positive move not just for the user, but the new site will enable us to maximise the amount that is recycled making an environmental contribution by doing the right thing. I am delighted to be marking its opening in this way.”
Get our weekly digest
resource.co article ai
How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.