Kent's best and worst recyclers can today be revealed - just months before sweeping new national rules will overhaul how bins are collected.
From March, councils will have to provide standardised collections of glass, metal, plastic, paper, card, and food waste from every household in England as part of the government's plan to drive up recycling rates.
The aim is to ensure "consistency" across the country - meaning the number and type of bins outside people's homes will soon look much the same wherever they live.
The government has set an ambitious target for 65% of household waste to be recycled by 2035.
But new figures obtained by KentOnline reveal that Kent's overall performance still has a long way to go.
According to verified data for the 2023-24 financial year, our councils recycled, reused, or composted 41.7% of household waste, with just 0.4% going to landfill. The rest is sent for "energy recovery", meaning it is burned to generate electricity for the National Grid.
Some argue local authorities should be "doing more" for the sake of the environment - but others believe we may have already reached "peak recycling".
The best and the worst recyclers in Kent
Across the county, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) came out on top - while Dartford was the worst performer, recycling less than half as much.
The former recycles more than 52% of its waste, the highest rate in Kent.
Cllr Rob Wormington (Lib Dem), TWBC's cabinet member for environment, said: "Our officers work hard with local residents and other stakeholders to achieve these results.
"They should be really proud of the progress they have made on this front."
A council spokesperson added: "We are very grateful to residents who play their part in recycling.
"There is always room for improvement and it would be great to see if we can increase the amount we recycle."
At the other end of the table, Dartford Borough Council (DBC) has consistently recorded the lowest rate in Kent, remaining in the mid-20s percentages since 2017.
Provisional stats for 2024-25, not yet verified by the government, show little change.
Council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite (Con) has repeatedly defended the figures, saying: "Our recycling percentages are low, but our volumes are about what you'd expect them to be."
Figures from Kent County Council show Dartford produced far more non-recyclable waste than any other district in 2023-24 - at 604kg per household.
The next highest was Sevenoaks at 554kg, while the Kent average was 450kg.
Cllr Kite argues the lower recycling rate is partly due to Dartford continuing with weekly general waste collections - something most other districts dropped years ago.
"We're not anti-recycling, we're just pro-good service," he said.
"If our residents said we want our recycling percentages up, we would do it."
While most Kent councils operate a fortnightly system - with general waste and recycling collected on alternating weeks - Dartford collects general waste every week and recycling every two weeks.
Cllr Kite added: "Successive governments have said you must get your recycling percentages up but the only way to do that realistically is to cut your other services back.
"We're frankly less interested in the percentages than we are in our customer satisfaction and service.
"We run a really good service at the council - it's a jewel in the crown."
'We should be doing more'
However, Dartford Green councillor Laura Edie says the borough needs to take recycling more seriously.
"We can't keep ignoring the environmental issues," she said.
"It's a real worry - and I just think that it's never been more important to look after the environment.
"We see the impacts of climate change with flooding etc. It's going to really impact us and we need to do our bit as a community."
She believes part of the problem is confusion among residents over what can be recycled.
"I feel as a council we maybe need to get some more messaging out there to point out how important it is to recycle and maybe give people more recycling space," she said.
"There's lots we definitely need to be doing and we can't just say, 'It's what the people want'.
"We need to go that step further to make sure we can give people what they need to make those right decisions."
Have we reached 'peak recycling?'
Over the years, KCC has reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill from 21% in 2012/13 to just 0.4% today.
The council's waste disposal strategy says: "Our ambition is to deliver a high-quality household waste disposal service, whilst remaining cost-effective for the people of Kent, with an emphasis on waste reduction, reuse, recycling and achieving zero landfill."
The government's standardisation of bins across the country also aims to "maximise environmental benefits".
From March, the new default requirement for most households will be four bins, with one of each of the following containers: residual (non-recyclable) waste; food waste; paper and card; all other dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal and glass).
These may be various container types, including bags, bins or stackable boxes.
Food waste will have to be collected weekly, and from 2027, councils will also have to collect plastic films such as carrier bags and food wrappers, which currently can only be recycled at supermarkets.
However, some believe we may have already hit "peak recycling".
At a recent meeting of Folkestone & Hythe District Council's overview and scrutiny committee, the coming changes were discussed.
Andrew Rush, the council's chief officer for regulatory and community services, told members: "When recycling started, I think people thought it was going to just glide ever upwards without any particular effort and that's just not the case.
"Have we reached peak recycling? Have we peaked at 46%? And the answer is possibly so."