Mystery Shopping at Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC's)

KCC has the statutory responsibility to provide a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) service to residents, of which we currently have 19 in Kent. The HWRCs are for the disposal of household waste and accept a wide range of materials. Trade waste is accepted at a number of sites.

Mystery shopping has proven to be an effective tool for independently assessing the quality of service delivery, identifying areas for improvement, identifying health and safety issues, informing staff training, operational decisions and maintaining site cleanliness at each of the HWRC’s.

KCC requires a contract for Mystery Shopping at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) for a period of 36 months from May 2026 to April 2029 , with the option of an additional 12 month extension if required.

The supplier must have the following as a minimum:

•Capacity – the supplier must have the capacity to undertake four monthly visits to each of the 19 sites across Kent.

•Personnel – the supplier must have sufficient personnel resources to ensure the Mystery Shopper are not recognised by HWRC staff.

•Data Storage – the suppliers must have the ability to store the data it collects.

•Monthly Reporting – the supplier must have the ability to provide monthly reporting to the Council on the results of its surveys.