Kent County Council is not meeting its own targets when it comes to recycling or composting waste.

The latest figures show that in the 12 months to June the county recycled or composted only 44% of what was collected at its Household Waste Recycling Centres and by district councils in their bin collections.

That is 6% below its target of 50% and 1% below the "floor standard" – the minimum level before action has to be taken to make improvements.

The percentage of recycling achieved has been slowly but persistently declining since June 2021, when 47% had been achieved.

Statistics show more waste is being burnt for energy at the Allington Waste Incinerator Plant ­– that proportion has increased from 51% to 55% over the same period, above the target figure of 49%.

In tonnage terms, the county dealt with 670,091 tons of waste in the 12 months to June, of which 330,283 tons went to the incinerator.

The standards of service people receive at the waste recycling centres has also declined. The authority engages a firm to act as a "mystery shopper" calling at the transfer stations anonymously to assess the service.

The assessment has declined from a 97% satisfaction score in the quarter up to June 2021 to a 93% rating in the quarter up to June 2022, although KCC said some of the loss in points was simply due to staff not wearing their name badges.

The statistics will be considered by the environment and transport cabinet committee on Tuesday next week at 10am in County Hall.

A large expansion to the Allington Waste Incinerator, on the 20/20 estate at Allington, has been in the pipeline for the last two years but was recently abandoned.

The incinerator is run by a private company, Kent Enviropower, part of the FCC Environment group.