Does Kent County Council Export Plastic Waste Abroad? The Evidence and the Countries Involved.

What really happens once the bin lid closes? Most of the waste Kent residents produce is handled here in the county, a significant share is sent to facilities elsewhere in the UK, and a smaller—but important—portion is shipped overseas.

Kent County Council (KCC) and the 12 district councils in the Kent Resource Partnership (KRP) continue to send a share of the county’s recyclate — including the plastic fraction from “comingled” collections — abroad. The KRP’s most recent full Materials End Destinations report states: “8.6% of all waste and recycling collected was sent abroad for processing, this is a figure we are working to reduce each year.”

KCC’s 2025 explainer keeps the “abroad” category front and centre and directs residents to a live Power BI dashboard showing “how much is kept within Kent, within the UK (but not in Kent) and abroad.” It also provides a 2023/24 snapshot and slide-by-slide descriptions of the data.

Cllr David Wimble (Reform UK – pictured) is KCC’s Cabinet Member for Environment. In his own words, Cllr Wimble “has been talking rubbish for years” 

What The Official Kent Data Says

• KRP 2020/21 (Foreword): “75.7% of all waste and recycling collected stayed in Kent … 15.7% … stayed in the UK … 8.6% … was sent abroad for processing.” The notes add that some dry recycling was processed via MRFs or companies who “may send their feedstocks abroad.” 

• KRP 2017/18: The last report that names countries lists consignments of Kent’s comingled recyclate (via Viridor’s Crayford MRF) to India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, alongside European destinations; the foreword summarises that “less than 9% was sent abroad for further treatment.” 

• KCC 2025 page & dashboard: “It is important you know where your rubbish and recycling ends up, we publish our data and report so you can see how we work,” with slides that show Kent / other UK / abroad and “by tonnage, where your waste is sent by geographic location and treatment type.” 

Bottom line for Kent: KRP’s 2020/21 edition gives the latest quantified split and the 2017/18 edition supplies the last named destination countries; KCC’s current page confirms the “abroad” stream is still tracked and disclosed for 2023/24.

District Level Picture (2017/18 to 2023/24 Cumulative)

Using the KCC dashboard totals by destination (Kent / other UK / abroad), the share sent abroad across the period is:

• Gravesham 12.76%, Swale 12.21%, Maidstone 12.19%, Ashford 10.40%, Dartford 10.04%, Sevenoaks 8.09%, Canterbury 6.43%, Tonbridge & Malling 3.62%,Tunbridge Wells 1.87%, Folkestone & Hythe 1.50%, Dover 1.46%, Thanet 0.44%

Across Kent overall, 251,535 tonnes out of 3,889,934 tonnes went abroad — about 6.47% of the total. This means between 2020/21 and 2023/24 the amount of waste sent abroad by KCC fell by 2.13%. Of course, none of this reduction can be claimed by Reform led KCC; and the Cabinet Member Cllr David Wimble.

The National Picture Has Sharpened – And It Matters In Kent

Today, The Guardian reported that UK plastic waste exports to developing countries rose 84% in the first half of 2025, “mostly to Malaysia and Indonesia,” with campaigners calling it “unethical and irresponsible waste imperialism.” The article notes that while the EU has legislated a ban on exports of waste to non-OECD countries from November 2026, the UK “does not have a similar ban in place.” 

Why Kent should care: KRP’s own text concedes that MRF-handled feedstocks “may send their feedstocks abroad.” In a market where national exports to developing countries are rising, local-authority recyclate — including plastics aggregated at MRFs from counties like Kent — is more exposed to those channels unless contracts and verification keep tight control over end markets.

Are Developing Countries Part Of Kent’s Historic Mix

Yes. The KRP 2017/18 contractor table explicitly lists India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand as end-destinations for Kent’s comingled recyclate (via Viridor’s Crayford MRF). The same foreword records “less than 9%” going abroad that year.

What’s New in 2024/25 and 2025/26?

• Public KRP PDFs: As of publication, KRP has not released 2024/25 or 2025/26 Materials End Destinations PDFs naming countries. The latest quantified “abroad” share remains 2020/21; the last country list remains 2017/18.

• KCC dashboard (2025): KCC’s live page presents a 2023/24 snapshot and slides that show “how much is kept within Kent, within the UK (but not in Kent) and abroad” and “by tonnage, where your waste is sent by geographic location and treatment type.” This confirms that an “abroad” outcome is still part of the recent-year picture KCC tracks and discloses. 

Accountability And Next Steps

KCC’s ambition is clear: “We aim to dispose of Kent’s waste entirely in Kent if possible.” It also promises transparency — “we publish our data and report so you can see how we work.” Those words now need teeth.

What Residents Should Demand – Immediately

• Publish the country list, every year. Release 2024/25 and 2025/26 end-destinations by country (as in 2017/18), broken down by material and tonnage. No aggregates, no dashboards without detail—names and numbers, in a downloadable table.

• Plastic-first disclosure. Add a plastics pane to the dashboard and annual PDF: PET, HDPE and mixed plastics by Kent / other UK / abroad, with the exact countries and treatment types (recycling, energy-from-waste, refuse-derived fuel).

• Hard contract clauses. Write into all disposal/MRF contracts that Kent material must not be shipped to non-OECD destinations without verifiable, audited compliance with environmental and labour standards—plus penalties and termination for breaches.

• Independent audit & traceability. Commission an annual third-party audit of export routes, including MRF output sampling, shipping/bill-of-lading checks, and Basel Convention compliance. Publish the full audit letter, not a summary.

• Quarterly progress reports. Track the “abroad” share quarterly, with a clear glide path and milestones toward the stated ambition of keeping waste in Kent, plus explanations for any spike.

• Open the paperwork. Publish redacted end-market contracts, waste carrier licences, reprocessor permits, and contamination rates so the public can follow the chain from kerbside bin to final plant.

Kent residents have done their part at the kerbside. Now it is over to County Hall—and to Cllr David Wimble—to match those efforts with full disclosure, enforceable safeguards, and a measurable plan that steadily shuts the door on unnecessary waste exports.

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