We all need to do our bit to save the planet and many of us in Kent have enthusiastically taken to washing out our yoghurt pots and separating our glass bottles from our vegetable peelings and other waste.

But what happens to our rubbish after it has been collected?

The Tunbridge Wells-based packaging company Priory Direct has done some analysis on the recycling rates achieved by the 11 local authorities across Kent.

Tonbridge and Malling turns out to lead the table, recycling more than half (51.6%) of the rubbish it collects.

Ashford, Maidstone, Folkestone and Hythe, Dover and Tunbridge Wells, are all not far behind, but then performance begins to slip.

Gravesham recycles only 43.7% of its rubbish, while at the bottom of the league Dartford manages a measly 24.5%.

Across the country, the variance between local authorities is even greater.

Top performing authority St Albans recycles 64.2% of its rubbish, while worst performer Barrow-in-Furness manages just 17.9%.

In England, recycling and waste is managed by local authorities with no interference from government other than the setting of a target figure, currently 50%.

But Priory Direct says that in the absence of any penalty for those failing to meet the target, and with no extra funds to help those councils that are falling behind, there’s no accountability.

As a result the national average figure for recycling actually fell last year from 43.8% previously to 42.3%, with the decrease being blamed, like many things, on the impact of the pandemic.

Lauren Churcher, from Priory Direct, said: "The recycling rates for Kent paint a particularly interesting and varied picture - while there’s only around 20 miles between them, the difference between Tonbridge and Malling compared with Dartford is worlds apart."

Lauren Churcher discusses the recycling rates across Kent

She said: "The vast difference in the recycling rates between the country leader, St Albans, and the likes of Dartford is surely reason enough for the government to take control of recycling instead of leaving it up to local authorities.

"We know that the environmental damage we’ve caused so far is causing catastrophic damage already, and so we need to do what we can to mitigate it.

"Recycling is in all of our control – it’s so quick and easy for us all to do and in the face of climate change when you can feel so overwhelmed and helpless, getting recycling right can and will make a huge difference."

The figures for Kent:

1 Tonbridge and Malling 51.6%

2 Ashford 50.5%

3 Maidstone 49.7%

4 Folkestone & Hythe 48.1%

5 Dover 47.8%

6 Tunbridge Wells 47.5%

7 Gravesham 43.7%

8 Medway 41.8%

9 Swale 41.4%

10 Canterbury 40.9%

11 Sevenoaks 36.6%

12 Thanet 35%

13 Dartford 24.5%

For more information on Priory Direct, click here.