Ashford, UK, reports hitting target

The Ashford Borough Council (ABC) of Ashford, United Kingdom, indicates it is among the recycling local authority leaders again in 2017, marking the third consecutive year it has enjoyed that status.

The ABC states the “latest figures published by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show Ashford has a recycling rate of 55 percent, a rise of 2 percent since last year.”

Over the past three years, ABC indicates it has “stayed comfortably above the national target of 50 percent.” The council acknowledges Ashford was once referred to as “England’s worst recycler,” though now it ranks as the 35th best recycling local authority in the U.K.

The ABC says Ashford’s recycling progress can be attributed to “excellent engagement from residents, strong contract management, a sound communications plan, membership [in] the Kent Resource Partnership (KRP), and working with Biffa, who are an engaged contractor.”

Recent figures published in KRP’s annual report show Kent’s landfill waste is less than 3 percent for 2016/17, exceeding the government target of having a maximum of 10 percent. The remaining 97 to 98 percent of the borough’s waste is recycled, composted or generated into electricity, according to the ABC.

“Ashford’s recycling success is something to be proud of and we could not have achieved these fantastic results without our residents’ ongoing support and enthusiasm,” says Clair Bell, the ABC portfolio holder for environment and land management. “We are proud to remain the top authority in the county for the third year running.”

Since the council launched what it calls its new-look recycling service in 2013, the borough has quadrupled its recycling performance, been named the country’s most improved recycling authority and was among the finalists for two categories in the 2015 National Recycling Awards.