Top recycling performance for council

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) has come top in the county for waste management and recycling for the fourth year in a row - and has risen to new heights in the national league table.

The authority retained the top spot for both highest percentage of household waste recycled and composted, and for the lowest residual waste tonnages per household, as national performance statistics for the last year were released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The borough authority has also risen from 35th in the country for recycling to 27th, and 10th for the amount of residual waste produced per household.

In the last year, there has been a 1.6% increase in household waste recycling across the area, which the council attributes to factors such as a new education officer, a more ‘streamlined’ recycling process and residents being keen to help the environment.

Ashford’s garden waste recycling service also continues to grow and now has more than 15,400 customers signed up – growing by almost 1,000 users in the past year.

ABC says ‘it is pushing the green agenda’ with a series of educational events, activities and workshops planned for 2019.

Cllr Clair Bell, portfolio holder for environment and land management, said: “Ashford’s recycling success is certainly something to be proud of and we could not have achieved these fantastic results without our residents’ ongoing support and enthusiasm.

“Ashford residents are doing a tremendous job at recycling, but it is very important that we work hard to maintain, and where possible, improve this level.

“With 2019 being the year of the environment we intend to focus on reinforcing the message about recycling further with a strong programme of events, campaigns and initiatives throughout the year.

“We are continuing to strive for improvements wherever possible.”