What we do: Waste and Street Scene
Learn about our Waste and Street Scene team and how they support the residents of the borough.
Our team handles all aspects of waste disposal, including managing the waste contract. We also enforce regulations against illegal waste disposal and other environmental crimes.
We connect with all residents' homes weekly, managing around 5 million recycling and waste collections each year.
Our responsibilities
Waste Collection: We operate within a 2-tier waste system. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) collects kerbside waste and recycling, while Kent County Council (KCC) processes these materials.
Contract Supervision: We oversee a waste and street cleansing contract valued at approximately £4,000,000 per year.
Under this contract, we collect:
- Refuse
- Recycling
- Food waste
- Garden waste
- Clinical waste
- Bulky waste
- Batteries
- Textiles
- Small electrical goods
The contractor also provides street cleaning services.
Resident requests: We handle requests submitted online through the 'Bins and recycling' pages on the Council’s website. These requests are processed by our team, including Enforcement Officers and Client Monitoring Officers.
Requests include:
- Collecting stray dogs
- Investigating fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles
- Organizing graffiti removal and litter pick events
- Maintaining and repairing street furniture
- Delivering, replacing, and removing refuse and recycling containers
Data recording: We record all materials collected by the contractor for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) through Waste Data Flow (WDF). Vehicles tip waste at North Farm Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC), where the type and weight of materials are recorded. This data is submitted quarterly to DEFRA.
Planning Feedback: We review planning applications to ensure adequate bin storage and determine the types of bins needed.
Engagement and Education: We arrange visits to facilities where refuse and recycling are processed. These visits include our Sustainability team, local U3A groups, and others to educate on kerbside collected materials.
Recycling: We recycle various materials, turning them into new products:
- Refuse into energy
- Food into biogas
- Garden waste into compost
- Plastic into pellets and flakes
- Glass into new glass products
- Tins into metals
- Paper and card into new paper and card
Most of what we collect is recycled.
Recent activities
- Councillor Visits: Cllr Justine Rutland and Cllr Martin Brice visited our team to learn more about our work. Cllr Matt Lowe is scheduled to visit later this month.
- U3A Presentations: We presented to local U3A groups interested in understanding what happens to kerbside collected materials. This highlighted confusion about what should go into the brown/recycling bin.
- Collaboration with KCC: We work closely with Kent County Council to improve processes like recording and sharing weighbridge data. Recent joint visits include:
- Blaise compost facility to see garden waste processing
- North Farm HWRC to assess recycling contamination levels
Contamination Issues
Contamination occurs when the wrong material is placed in the wrong container. For example, paper and card in the brown bin are contaminants, but in the green box, they are not. Plastic bags and film are not collected, so recycling in plastic bags is contaminated. Recycling facilities will not open bags due to potential contamination. All recycling should be clean and loose.
For further information or clarification, please contact us at depot@tunbridgewells.gov.uk.
