A new waste facility for Sevenoaks

Yesterday I was delighted to attend the formal opening of KCC’s new Waste Transfer Station (WTS) at Dunbrik in Sevenoaks. The KCC Chairman Bryan Sweetland declared it open.

Unlike a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC - ‘the tip’), a WTS is not open to the public. It is where a waste collection authority, such as Sevenoaks District Council, will take the rubbish collected from the kerbside.

Here different forms of waste can be allocated for disposal, chiefly recycling. There are both HWRC and WTS facilities at Dunbrik. 

The existing WTS is both too small and not suitable for the increasing need to segregate materials for recycling. Work began on the new facility in July 2023 and it has been completed ahead of schedule.

The very impressive new WTS can process up to 75,000 tons of waste per year, which is double the amount put through the existing Dunbrik facility. It is another addition to our waste network, coming two years after we opened a modern and environmentally advanced HWRC at Allington near Maidstone. Our waste disposal record remains strong, with less than 1% going to landfill.

You can find the KCC media release about this here.

Safety enhancements in Kemsing

Some minor works to enhance safety at the Dynes Road/ Childsbridge Lane crossing should be installed today. After a collision at the crossing late last year, I asked Kent Highways officers to investigate STOP signage at the junction. 

The junction does not meet the Department for Transport criteria for these signs, but officers are introducing additional Give Way signs (in the West End and Dynes Road approaches to the junction) and the junction markings are being refreshed to reinforce and clarify the need to give way at these points.