PEPPERHILL Household Waste Recycling Centre is designed to manage up to 130,000 tonnes of waste.

It deals with everything from scrap metal to textiles and tyres and spectacles to electrical appliances as well as general household and garden waste.

The £3.6m site in Station Road, Northfleet, has been open to Dartford and Gravesend residents since September 1 but was officially opened on Thursday.

Cash for the new centre, which has 10 staff and is only one of two in the country, has been provided by Kent County Council (KCC), which is responsible for the running of the site.

KCC cabinet member for environment, highways and waste Councillor Keith Ferrin says he expects 300,000 visits annually.

He said: “Since the site opened it has been doing very well and lots of people have been visiting.

“During the first month we recycled 71 per cent of refuse brought to the site, which was the figure we were aiming for.

“It’s early days but I am hoping for even more visitors.

“This isn’t just aimed at Gravesend and Dartford residents but also people who live right across Kent.”

The site has a drive-through system aimed at making it easy to unload items.

Bright icons are used to direct customers to the correct area of the centre.

The site is a single level building covering around a hectare.

Greeters show visitors how to use the site and help them to recycle.

There are also no steps to climb to unload goods.

There are marked bays for different types of household waste, Visitors can drive into the bays and then tip their rubbish into the necessary compartment.

Site manager Trevor Young said: “On arrival at the centre, customers will be met by our trained greeters who will show visitors how to use the site and assist them with their recycling.

“The fact the site is undercover means customers can recycle in comfort rather than being exposed to the elements.

“It’s these extra touches which make visiting Pepperhill a pleasant experience and encourage residents to recycle even more.”

TV presenter and environmentalist Philippa Forrester officially opened the site last week.

She said: “I’m very proud to be able to launch this exciting new facility.

“This is the first time I have visited an indoor recycling centre. I would now like to see one where I live as I’m very big on recycling.”

She added: “We live on a small planet and our resources are dwindling so people must recycle everything they can.

“I think centres such as Pepperhill which are undercover and easy to use will encourage them to do so.”

The site is open seven days a week, from 8am to 4.30pm.

For more information, visit kent.gov.uk/recycleforkent