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Where our waste and recycling goes

It is important you know where your rubbish and recycling ends up, we publish our data and report so you can see how we work.

Avoiding landfill is our top priority and we only use it as a last resort for waste such as asbestos where there is no other option.

What happened in 2022 to 2023

  • Just 0.6% of Kent’s waste went to landfill. The average landfill rate in England was 7.3%, so we are ahead of most other counties.
  • In Kent we recycled, reused or composted 42.1% of our waste, and we are all working hard to improve on this. The average for England was 41.7%.

Waste that cannot be recycled is sent to an energy from waste plant in Allington. The waste becomes a fuel and is burnt at very high temperatures to create electricity.

Read more about how different wastes are handled in Kent

To get the details of this data use our interactive end destinations report on Microsoft Power BI.

View the data (Microsoft Power BI)

Our ambition

We and the 12 district councils are voluntary members of the Kent Resource Partnership.

We aim to dispose of Kent's waste entirely in Kent if possible.

We are always researching new ways to improve the way we dispose of waste and are mindful of the environmental impact of the decisions we make.

Contracts are reviewed regularly so they provide optimum performance.

Learn more about the Kent Resource Partnership

What happens to Kent's waste

Using our interactive end destinations report on Microsoft Power BI, you can move through the slides to look at the following data:

  • Slide 1: Where does your waste go? A map showing where waste is sent when it is collected. How much is kept within Kent, within the UK (but not in Kent) and abroad.
  • Slide 2: Know more about your waste. By tonnage, where your waste is sent by geographic location and treatment type.
  • Slide 3: Local authority performance. Shows all the waste in Kent, by district and where it has been sent.

View the data

You can get more details of how we process:

How you can help

We all have a part to play in reducing the waste we generate at home and when we're out. Learn about how you can reduce waste and recycle more.

It is also very important you dispose of waste correctly: