by Andy Gray
agray@thekmgroup.co.uk

A shake-up of kerbside recycling services is on the cards for Tonbridge and Malling.

The proposed scheme will see households provided with a box for glass, plastics and cans, and a separate container for used paper and card. The alternate fortnightly service will be supplemented by a weekly food waste collection.

The plan was outlined in a report by Tonbridge and Malling council’s local environmental management advisory board and is based on a recycling scheme adopted by other local authorities in Kent. If approved, it could be in force across the borough by April 2013.

In the report, a statement by the council's health and housing department said: “We have an opportunity to make a step-change improvement to our kerbside recycling services which will maintain our position as a high performer over the next seven years."

The pilot scheme is set to run until 2019, when the council’s waste services contract is next up for tender. A decision will then be taken on its continuation, dependent on its financial viability.

A separate contractor is being sought for the “stand-alone” collections which will run in conjunction with current fortnightly domestic and recycling routes run by Veolia.

Currently, the council employs alternate weekly collections of domestic waste and recyclable/green refuse.

It is estimate the additional service will cost more than £500,000, which the council said it will recoup by scrapping its plastic bottle banks and selling the recyclable material.