![flytip campaign](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/flytip-campaign-678x381.jpg)
Thanet District Council has launched a crackdown on flytippers blighting the isle.
In the past 12 months in Thanet there have been nearly 1,700 fly-tipping incidents, costing the council a total of £109,550 to clean up more than 1,500 tonnes of waste.
Today (March 20) the authority is launching its #CrimeNotToCare campaign, run in partnership with environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.
![](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/fixmystreet3-e1489925996697.jpeg)
The aim is to educate householders about the right thing to do with their rubbish and to reduce the amount of household waste that is fly-tipped by rogue traders.
The campaign, which launched this morning with a staged fly-tip of rubbish collected over the preceding weekend, aims to get the message across that if a person’s rubbish if dumped – even if they gave it to a third party to dispose of – they can be prosecuted and end up with a fine and a criminal record.
Prosecution
Prosecutions carried out by TDC include that of Jay Philips from Ramsgate. He was taken to court on 7 March and convicted of four charges of illegally dumping waste after being caught loading and unloading rubbish from a car and dumping it at Ebbsfleet Lane North.
He had advertised on Facebook to dispose of other people’s waste and was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work, £627.14 fine and £120 legal costs.
The campaign is in addition to a new £400 fixed penalty notice introduced last month.
‘Menace’
Cllr Suzanne Brimm, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “Fly-tipping incidents in Thanet are a menace, blighting communities and our countryside and costing the council an eye-watering £109,550 a year.
“We need the public to understand that their rubbish is their responsibility and they must do the right thing with it.
“Giving it to a ‘man with a van’ who offers to get rid of it cheaply could prove costly for people and result in them getting a criminal record. We all have a duty of care and the #CrimeNotToCare, campaign will help explain exactly what that is and how we can protect ourselves.”
Environmental education officer Jasmine Rose added: “Educating people is a really important part of this campaign. Thanet has free facilities to tip household waste and for recycling.
“Just this morning we have had a flytip in St Nicholas. We need to highlight this issue as it is blighting our countryside and district.”
Council services
![](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/fixmystreet2-1-e1489925954689.jpeg)
The council offers a bulky waste collection service -charges from £25 – for excess household rubbish and large furniture items, for example beds, sofas and fridges/freezers.
It will also be undertaking monthly deep cleans of nominated areas of the district. The deep cleans involve the council’s street cleaning teams working together at the same time in a specific area, as well as offering a bulky waste collection to residents in the roads they are focusing on.
For more information on the campaign, visit www.thanet.gov.uk/crimenottocare.
To report a fly-tipping incident, contact: [email protected] or call 01843 577115.