Town’s tip has longest queues
Maidstone residents planning a bank holiday clear out will have the longest wait to dispose of their rubbish of anywhere in the county.
Latest data shows the household waste recycling centre in Burial Ground Lane, Tovil is the most popular of all 18 run by Kent County Council.
Since the tips reopened after the coronavirus lockdown in May, an online booking system has been introduced to limit the number of visitors.
This week it was still possible to book a slot at 14 of the sites for Friday, or Thursday in the case of Faversham tip. At Folkestone, the earliest vacancy was on Saturday, and at Tunbridge Wells it was on Monday.
However, the Maidstone site was fully booked for a fortnight, until Wednesday, September 9. Residents are not limited to using the waste transfer stations nearest to them, but it may mean residents in the borough will have to drive their rubbish much further than usual to dispose of it.
KCC has recognised that the Tovil tip is extremely popular and has developed plans to create another at the 20/20 business park in Aylesford.
Currently, those wishing to use a waste depot must select one of five available time slots during the day - with motorists given a 75-minute window to arrive. In between, the tips are closed for 15 minutes for cleaning. Residents are limited to two visits per calendar month. To find your nearest recycling centre visit tinyurl.com/KMtip.