Starting April 1, 2026, approximately 6,000–8,000 households living in flats and apartments across Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, will be included in a new food waste recycling service from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. The expansion brings communal properties into a scheme that previously served only houses.
Houses in the borough have had separate food waste collections since 2019, but communal buildings were originally skipped because some communal bin stores were harder to manage. The rollout will target higher‑density areas such as the town centre, Southborough and Paddock Wood. The move is intended to help the council comply with the national ‘Simpler Recycling’ requirement, which set a deadline of March 31, 2026; Tunbridge Wells Borough Council plans to begin the full rollout on April 1, 2026, with delivery of internal caddies during March 2026.
To prepare for the change, residents will receive a seven‑litre indoor kitchen caddy and a supply of compostable liners during March 2026. These containers are designed to be kept in the kitchen and emptied into new brown communal bins (typically 240‑litre or 660‑litre sizes) located in the existing bin stores of each building.
The council and its contractor, FCC Environment, are working with property managers and landlords to identify space for the new communal bins and to minimise disruption in bin stores. Collected food waste is normally processed by the waste disposal authority (Kent County Council), typically by anaerobic digestion, to produce bio‑fertiliser and generate energy — a key part of the borough’s plan to reduce material sent to landfill or incineration.
If you plan to publish this story, obtain a short, on‑the‑record comment from a named TWBC spokesperson (or the cabinet member responsible for environmental services) and from FCC Environment confirming the rollout timetable, the caddy delivery schedule, and how properties that cannot physically accommodate communal bins will be handled. Also verify and replace the draft’s GOV.UK link with the current ‘Simpler Recycling’ guidance URL before publication.
