Caught Out? Shepway Tories Claim Recycling Covers Folkestone Flats: Shepway Council Denies It

A report in the Folkestone Herald has highlighted that recycling is to be withdrawn from Irene Astor Court off Dover Road in Folkestone, with a Council spokesman claiming "Flats are not currently included in our recycling collections". This comes under 6 weeks since Councillor Rory Love, the Tory Cabinet member with responsibility for recycling assured Councillors that recycling does cover flats within town.

In questions to the Cabinet at the Shepway District Council meeting of 13 June, Lib Dem Councillor Tim Prater asked when recycling was to be extended to flats. Councillor Rory Love responded that a number of flats were already covered by the recycling scheme, and he was considering extending it further.

Tim Prater commented:

"Councillor Love says that recycling from flats is an option, then just a few weeks later the Council denies it and even stops collecting from Irene Astor Court!

"There needs to be a properly thought through, well advertised, fully comprehensive scheme of recycling collections from flats - not a hokey-cokey 'some flats in, some flats out' solution which seems to be the case currently.

"Councillor Love needs to get a grip on what the position of recycling for flats in Shepway actually is. His statement to me about flat recycling seems to have just been 'flatly' denied by Shepway Council itself: they can't both be right."

The question from Cheriton Councillor Tim Prater to Rory Love at the 13 June meeting of the Council read:

"Over the last two years, I have been informed that the recycling scheme will be extended to include the collection of recyclables from flats across Shepway. Many councillors may not be aware that Shepway does not collect recyclable goods from any residential flats in the area. After assurances, over a long period of time, can the new District Secretary inform this Council, briefly, when this scheme is going to be extended to include all residential dwellings?"

The reply from Councillor Love, District Secretary for Environmental Services, said:

"Councillor Prater states in his question that Shepway does not collect recyclable goods from any residential flats in the area. Can I first of all correct him and confirm that many small blocks of flats are receiving the same kerbside collection service that single dwellings receive. There are examples of such collections in this very road, Castle Hill Avenue, and just around the corner in Sandgate Road, Earls Avenue, and so on. I am also aware of such cases in parts of the district outside Folkestone."

"As I said earlier in my reply to question 2, I would like us to increase our recycling rate beyond the excellent levels we are already achieving, including collection from more flats. I intend to examine how we can achieve service improvements and consider the associated costs as we prepare for the end of the existing waste contract."

"If Councillor Prater or any members, who know of blocks of flats in their wards where residents would welcome the opportunity to have collections of recyclable waste, would contact me, I shall make enquiries with our contractor to see if such requests can be accommodated under the current contract. If they cannot be so accommodated at this stage, I can give my assurance that I shall explore such enhancements under the new contract."