Biffa to Place Stickers on Swale Wheelie Bins to Help Reduce Recycling Contamination

Swale Borough Council will be placing stickers on household waste and recycling bins over the coming weeks to help residents cut down on recycling contamination.

The stickers will be going on all bins across the borough to ask residents to think about what they are putting in each bin to reduce recycling contamination.

The council sees a lot of food waste, used nappies, textiles, garden waste and black bin bags being placed in the blue bin with recycling.

If the levels of these contaminants are too high, the entire load may be rejected and everyone’s recycling on that collection round is lost.

With more people working from home there has understandably been an increase in weights for kerbside collections. This means it is even more important than ever that the right materials are going in the correct bins.

Councillor Julian Saunders, the cabinet member for environment at the council, said:

“We want every resident to think carefully about what they are putting in each of their bins.

“We need residents to be part of the solution and help us ensure we can recycle what’s in our recycling bins, instead of having bin loads rejected from the recycling facilities for too many contaminants.

“The stickers will show what can and can’t go in our recycling and household waste bins, and if everybody makes a small improvement in how they allocate their waste, we can make a positive impact across the borough.

“Every resident can make a difference when it comes to how they dispose of their waste. Whether it’s washing food waste from recyclables before placing them in the blue bin, opting to start home composting or asking for a food caddy for food waste, even small changes will help us recycle and tackle climate change.

“It will also help create a circular economy where more products are re-used and recycled rather than new raw materials being used to create more waste.”

If you are unsure of what bin something should go in, try using our handy Waste Wizard search tool on our website at: https://swale.gov.uk/waste-wizard

Swale Borough Council

Emergency Road Closure - Yaugher Lane, Hartlip

It will be necessary to close Yaugher Lane, Hartlip from Friday 19th March 2021 for up to 1 day.

The road will be closed at the junction of Matts Hill Road.

The alternative route is via Matts Hill Lane, Warren Lane, Place Lane and Meresborough Lane.

This is to enable carriageway patching to be carried out by Kent County Council.

Kent County Council 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181

For details of roadworks see: www.kenttraffic.info

Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste

Emergency Road Closure - South Bush Lane, Hartlip

It will be necessary to close South Bush Lane, Hartlip from Wednesday 17th March 2021 for up to 2 days.

The road will be closed between the junctions of Meresborough Lane and A2 Moor Street.

The alternative route is via A2 Moor Street, Spade Lane and Meresborough Lane.

It is planned that the road will be closed between 09:00 hrs and 15:30 hrs each day.

This is to enable restoration of customers services to be carried out by BT Openreach.

Kent County Council 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181

For details of roadworks see: https://one.network

Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste

Swale Borough Council’s 1920s Weekend to go Ahead in July

Swale Borough Council’s 1920s weekend is set to go ahead in July after being postponed last year due to lockdown.

The weekend will be a celebration of the 1920s in Sittingbourne High Street from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th July and will feature music, dance, theatre and entertainment for everybody to enjoy.

Cllr Richard Palmer, cabinet member for community at the council, said:

“We’re delighted to be able to plan ahead and put the 1920s weekend back on that we had originally planned for last year.

“As long as the government’s roadmap out of lockdown remains the same, we’ll be able to put on the weekend and give local people a fun event to look forward to.

“We’ll have a pop-up venue behind Swale House that will host an old-time music hall, children’s entertainment, 20s dance classes, 20s music and dance evening and a murder mystery.

“We’re also hoping to have a steam train from Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway on display with vintage cars and street entertainment.

“We’ve been working with more than 70 businesses, charities and local community groups to put on a great display with interactive fun for all ages, and as long as all is well and we come out of lockdown as planned, we’ll be on track to put on a terrific event.”

Cllr Mike Baldock, deputy leader and cabinet member for planning, said:

"The 20s weekend will be an opportunity for residents to get together after the pains of the last year to celebrate the new decade and remember the colour and vitality of the 1920s.

"We are keen to support our local businesses and high streets coming out of Covid and this is part of that drive to get people supporting the local economy again.

"As we mix Valentino with the Charleston, and cocktails and gin with the writings of Agatha Christie, let's make the 2020s in Swale as exciting as the Roaring 1920s!”

Tickets go on sale in May and people can Email: tourismsupport@swale.gov.uk to get involved.

For more information visit: www.visit-swale.co.uk/events/1920s-weekend-a-celebration-for-the-20s-sittingbourne-july-2021-57265

Swale Borough Council

New Greener Mobile Libraries Roll Out Across Kent

The first of Kent’s new mobile library vehicles have hit the county’s roads, bringing a range of books to residents eager to nourish their love of reading during lockdown and beyond.

KCC’s Libraries, Registration and Archives service has invested in five new vehicles to cover all the routes across Kent - including the surrounding areas of Ashford, Dover, Maidstone, Northfleet and Sturry. The vehicles carry a great range of books and crucially offer greater reliability, reduced maintenance costs, and are more economical to drive than the older vehicles.

Wheelchair access is available thanks to the access steps being part of the wheelchair lift and, teamed with the rear air suspension, the entry and exit is kept comfortable for all customers.

The most recent figures available, for 2019-20, record that KCC’s mobile libraries assisted more than 28,000visitors and issued nearly 80,000 items.

Mike Hill, Kent County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said:

“I am delighted that the first of our new mobile libraries is being enjoyed by our customers. There was a real need to replace the older vehicles so that we can maintain the excellent customer service residents expect from Kent Libraries.”

“We know from customer feedback that the mobile service has been a real lifeline to many residents during lockdown, and I am pleased that our new vehicles will be reliable, comfortable and improve customer experience.”

“Close attention had been paid to the need to provide mobile libraries that were as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. Their “green” specifications include:”

• A lighter chassis than the current libraries with better aerodynamics, producing lower emissions and improved fuel economy.
• An auto gearbox that analyses the load in the vehicle and the road conditions to put the vehicle in the correct gear, making multiple decisions instantly to get the smoothest, most comfortable and most fuel-efficient drive, maximising the running costs of the vehicle.
• A smart pack that provides a monthly report showing data on fuel consumption and driver behaviour, journey profiles, and tips to improve driving style for fuel consumption and vehicle optimisation; and 
• Roof-mounted solar panels providing a clean green method of running the internal features of the library. If required, the vehicles can be plugged in overnight to give whatever charge may be required, and this will auto shut off when the batteries reach 100%, thus reducing the need to pull power from the national grid.

For more information on Kent Libraries and the mobile service, visit: www.kent.gov.uk/libs

Kent County Council

Swallows Leisure Centre Roof Fixed and Ready for Re-opening After Lockdown

Work to replace the severely storm-damaged roof of Swallows Leisure Centre has been completed.

The roof of the leisure centre in Sittingbourne was damaged in storm Ciara last year, causing significant damage.

In July, the council agreed to provide £800,000 to replace a large area over the pool, sports hall, café and part of the gym.

Cllr Angela Harrison, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at the council, said:

“I’m glad to see the works have finished, so the centre can now plan for reopening as lockdown restrictions are relaxed in coming weeks and months.

The last year has been a tremendous challenge for the centre, with the damaged roof, national lockdowns, and adapting how they operate to make sure people could exercise safely.

We know how important Swallows is for local people’s health and wellbeing, which is why we’ve invested a significant amount of money on the repairs.

We’ve invested now as we don’t want to cut corners and just patch over issues as they crop up. It needed to be done properly so we can prevent more unnecessary closures which don’t just have a direct financial impact, but also have a significant effect on the health and wellbeing of local people.”

Dave Harcourt, Chief Executive Officer at Swale Community Leisure who run the leisure centre, said:

“It’s fantastic news that after a lengthy construction period, overcoming the constraints of Covid-19 and the inevitable winter weather, that the Swallows Leisure Centre roof project is finally complete.

This is great news for our customers, and also for our staff, who are looking forward to the pool and sports hall being operable again.

It is thanks to the investment and ongoing support from Swale Borough Council in bringing this about, that when we re-open following the Governments ‘Road-map to Recovery’, we anticipate the return of so many wonderful people to the centre.”

Plans are being prepared to reopen the centre in line with Government guidance, and further announcements will be made in due course.

Swale Borough Council