Cutting waste

Sevenoaks District Council has agreed to sign up to an innovative plan that aims to dramatically increase household recycling and minimise household waste over the next two decades.

The Kent Waste Forum, which consists of Kent County Council that disposes of household waste, and Kent's 12 district councils, including Sevenoaks District Council, that collect the waste, has developed the Kent Joint Municipal Waste Management Headline Strategy.

 The Strategy sets out how the councils intend to manage the household waste produced by residents over the next 20 years.

 The amount of waste produced across Kent is an increasing problem. On average each household in Kent produces about 1.4 tonnes of waste every year. This means that over 800,000 tonnes of household waste was produced in Kent last year, which is enough to fill refuse trucks parked nose to tail in the three lanes around the M25 – with some left over.

 It costs tens of millions of pounds to collect and dispose of the household waste produced in Kent. But every year the amount of waste created grows. At the current rate of growth, Kent's authorities will have to deal with a further 260,000 tonnes of waste by 2020.

 To help tackle the problem, Kent's councils intend to:
•       Adopt an approach which views waste as a resource
•       Waste minimisation and re-use will be a priority in order to break the link between waste production and economic growth
•       Roll out information and education programmes to encourage residents to reuse and recycle more 
•       Significantly increase the amount of waste recycled and composted
•       Significantly reduce the volume of waste disposed of by landfill
 
Cllr Felicity Broomby, Sevenoaks District Council's Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental issues, says: "Reducing the amount of waste we produce and increasing the amount of household waste we recycle is a priority. Not only are we running out of landfill spaces, it costs our local tax payers to collect and dispose of the waste, which is increasing year-on-year. Only by developing such long-term plans with our partners can we tackle this growing issue."

Keith Ferrin, KCC Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste and Chairman of the Kent Waste Forum, adds: "Kent residents are facing some tough decisions about how we manage, treat and dispose of the household waste we all create. The draft Headline Strategy has come about as a result of wide consultation with interest groups and stakeholders, in addition to a considerable amount of time spent by officers through the Kent Waste Forum. It provides a clear direction for how we will manage this waste in the future."

Local people can view and comment on the Kent Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy by logging on to www.kentwaste.dialoguebydesign.net or they can call 0208 683 6817 to find out how they can access the consultation. Local people have until 4 October to comment on the Strategy. The final version will be produced by the end of the year.

 Sevenoaks District Council's Cabinet agreed to sign up to the Kent Joint Municipal Waste Management Headline Strategy at its meeting on Thursday 3 August.