Building work on a new Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) has officially begun
Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Environment Susan Carey put spade to soil on Monday (5 July) for the facility which will be built and operated by FCC Environment on the site on Laverstoke Road in Allington.
The new HWRC has been designed to operate without interruption as it will be on two levels allowing full containers to be removed safely whilst residents use the site.
As well as the usual recycling bins, there will be a ‘reuse space’ for items that are still usable. The new facility is due to open by June 2022.
A new access junction will be constructed off Laverstoke Road to the north of the existing priority junction for the Allington waste incinerator.
The design incorporates many environmentally friendly features such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting. The construction itself will also minimise the impact on the environment. The aggregate used in the build is a recycled composite using plastic bags that have been thrown away.
Susan Carey said: "KCC’s investment in this, our 19th Household Waste Recycling Centre, shows our commitment to boosting recycling in the county and relieving the pressure on the busy Tovil site.
"We have long wanted to provide an extra Household Waste Recycling Centre to serve the Maidstone and Tonbridge and Malling areas, and I'm delighted to see work starting."
KCC currently has 18 HWRCs, providing facilities for the recycling and disposal of more than 30 different types of waste.
Kent County Council awarded a contract to FCC Environment to provide the management and operation of 12 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. In addition, FCC Environment also manages the Pepperhill facility in West 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's 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."
Each year Kent's household waste sites receive approximately 185,000 tonnes of waste and 3.5 million visits.
For more information, visit www.kent.gov.uk/waste