Voluntary tree warden Karen McKenzie has launched a petition to try and force a change regarding the clearance of fly tipping from farmland sites.
The Broadstairs resident and artist says the burden of removing illegally dumped waste should not lie with the farmland owner but should be contributed to by local government.
She said: “”It is time for the law to be changed. Farmers should not have to pay for cleaning up what is a wider societal problem.
“All layers of government where we pay taxes could perhaps contribute to a scheme that would compensate farmers who have to clear up after these environmental vandals who think they are above the law.
“If we can’t solve this problem then at least the farmers shouldn’t have to pick up the bill.”
Karen was prompted to set up the petition after seeing two fly-tips in the same place on land behind St Peter’s churchyard.
In April 2020 to March 2021 (the most recent statistic available) there were 1.13 million fly-tipping incidents across the country, an increase of 16% from the 980,000 reported in 2019/20.
The most common size category for fly-tipping incidents was equivalent to a ‘small van load’ (34% of total incidents) with this type of tipping usually including big items; furniture, white goods, mattresses and builders waste.
Karen says North Thanet MP Roger Gale has indicated he will discuss the matter with MP Craig Mackinlay and says local councillors support the initiative too.
You can find the petition on Change Org at https://chng.it/zwgMLJh8TY
Dealing with fly-tips
The council says it endeavours to act promptly to investigate when a fly-tip is reported and the waste is removed as quickly as possible to prevent further items being dumped at the same spot
There is CCTV in known hotspots across the district. Fly-tipping can lead to a £400 fixed penalty notice or a criminal prosecution and up to five years in prison.
If a resident sees any fly-tipping in the district, they are asked to report it via the council’s online form. There is also an online map which shows existing fly-tipping reports which TDC is in the process of investigating.
More information is available on the council’s website.
