Appreciation campaign for waste and recycling crews across Kent

2020-11-23 15:54:20

A NEW campaign has been launched to show appreciation for waste, recycling and street cleaning teams across Kent.

The campaign includes a mini documentary that follows the shifts of front-line staff in Kent, and features Urbaser collection crews across Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells.

The campaign was initiated by The Kent Resource Partnership (KRP) to highlight the vital work carried out by teams across 13 councils across Kent, to keep the streets clean and safe, particularly during the pandemic.

In October 2018, Urbaser, one of the largest resource and cleaning management companies in Europe, was awarded an eight-year contract to deliver a significantly improved recycling service to 101,000 homes as well as provide a more efficient street cleaning services across Tonbridge & Malling Borough and Tunbridge Wells.

Javier Peiro, managing director at Urbaser Ltd, said: “We are very proud of our crews, who worked long hours and in difficult circumstances to ensure that waste and recycling collections, and street cleansing duties, continued. The volume of waste increased by over three times the usual amount during lockdown and remains above the levels typically seen at Christmas time. This campaign is a fantastic way to raise awareness about the importance of the services they carry out and we were delighted to take part.”

The digital campaign featuring the hashtag #KeepKentClean, opened with an animation, which can be viewed and shared on participating councils’ social media feeds. The animation illustrates that 15,974 litter bins are emptied each week and that each refuse and recycling operative walks an average of 50 miles per week. It also shows the impact on the environment, with 1,458 tonnes of garden waste and 591 tonnes of food recycling being turned into compost in Kent each week.

Members of the public can get involved and show their appreciation with downloadable Thank You posters available on council websites or social media pages, which can be printed at home, coloured in and displayed in their windows.