Urbaser will start to deliver recycling, waste collection and street cleaning services for Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council on 1 March and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council on 30 March.

In October 2018, Urbaser, one of the largest resource and cleaning management companies in Europe, was awarded an eight-year contract to deliver a significantly improved recycling service to 101,000 homes as well as provide a more efficient street cleaning services across both boroughs.

The new service will include: weekly food waste collections; a fortnightly collection of residual waste; an alternative fortnightly collection of mixed dry recyclables ie plastics, cans, cartons, glass, paper and card; a separate fortnightly collection of garden waste as an opt-in chargeable service; and additional collections of textiles, household batteries and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment).

Javier Peiro, Managing Director, Urbaser says: 'We are delighted to be working so closely with Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to improve the levels of service across both boroughs. We believe the expanded services will help to generate a significant rise in local recycling rates, benefitting residents and the environment alike'

Initially, services for both councils will continue as normal, with no change to collection days, whilst the logistics of the roll-out of the new collection service are finalised. The new recycling service, which commences on Monday 30 September, will enable all residents to add glass to their kerbside collections. It also includes separate food waste collections. For the first time, residents in Tonbridge & Malling will also be able to recycle plastics with their kerbside collections.

Cllr David Lettington, Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Street Scene and Environment Services, says: 'Residents have been asking us to introduce a kerbside recycling service for plastics and glass for some time and I'm delighted that we'll be able to do just that when we roll out our much-improved recycling service from 30 September. In the meantime, we will be working with Urbaser to help finalise the logistics that will ensure a smooth introduction of the new service for our residents'

Councillor Dr Ronen Basu, Sustainability portfolio holder for Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, comments: 'We told residents some time ago we wanted to see kerbside-glass recycling included in the new recycling and waste contract and I am very pleased that we achieved this. The new contract will make life easier for residents and aims to improve recycling rates'

From March onwards, Urbaser and the councils will be running a series of roadshows at local venues, where residents can chat to council waste services teams, and find out more about the new recycling service and ask questions.

Mark Pigott, Business Development Manager for Urbaser concludes: 'This is an exciting partnership and we are looking forward to introducing service improvements across both boroughs to help residents to recycle more'