Thanet council has carried out 3,755 enforcement investigations into litter and waste offences over the past 12 months.
Teams have cleared a 3,500 tonnes of waste from isle beaches, 100 tonnes of fly-tipped rubbish, emptied 900 tonnes of rubbish from bins and cleared 840,00 tonnes of detritus during street sweeping.
Speaking at a full council meeting last Thursday cabinet member for operational services Jason Savage, praised the efforts of frontline staff who cleared up after “residents and visitors who litter and flytip on our streets.”
During the past year 69 fines for £400 have been dished out and 25 people have been successfully prosecuted for flytipping; another 67 prosecutions have been made against those who failed to pay fixed penalty fines; 190 enforcement notices have been handed out for waste and pest damage; 772 environmental protection notices have been served; 60 trade waste notices given out and 107 community protection warnings plus 20 community protection fines of £100 were served.
Cllr Savage added: “We are doing all that can be done with the resources at our disposal.”
The figures were given in response to a question from Thanet resident, and former councillor, Martin Wise who said: “The basic competence of a council can be measured in its ability to keep streets and highways free from litter and other detritus. To its shame, Thanet council fails spectacularly in this regard and shames us all. What are you going to doing about it? Residents and visitors deserve better.”
The latest flytipping prosecution by Thanet council was heard at Folkestone Magistrates on Monday (March 25).
A Ramsgate man was found guilty on two counts of depositing waste. On each count the defendant was fined £2,640. In total, he was ordered to pay £7,203.81 within 28 days. This includes a fine of £5280, £855 in legal costs, £428.51 enforcement costs and £470 compensation to the landowner where the waste was dumped, as well as £170 victim surcharge.
The fly-tips were discovered on farmland on Chalk Hill, Ramsgate, and in an alleyway in St Lawrence last June, and consisted of household waste from a Thanet resident’s property. Included in the fly-tips were personal documentation and private paperwork linked to the family and property.
The defendant took waste away and dumped it.
Gavin Waite, Director of Operational and Commercial Services at Thanet District Council said: “Fly-tipping is a crime and dumped waste is a blight on the local landscape. Anyone who offers to remove waste must be licensed to do so. People ought to be aware that they shouldn’t just hand their waste over to someone who is offering to take it away, unless they’ve checked their credentials. It might seem like a good deal at the time but the person whose waste it is could also face some serious consequences if it ends up being dumped illegally.”
Disposing of waste
Registered waste carriers can be checked on the Environment Agency website.
Thanet District Council offers residents a bulky waste collection service for a nominal sum.
Kent County Council operates a recycling centre at Manston Road which is open daily.
Reporting fly-tipping
Anyone who witnesses fly-tipping is encouraged to report it online or directly to [email protected]
