A road in Birchington had to be shut this morning (September 24) due to a large fly-tipping incident.
Thanet council is investigating after furniture and building materials were dumped in Park Road at the Woodchurch end.
This is the second reported fly-tip on Park Road in less than two weeks. Council officers attended the scene and cleansing operatives had cleared the area by 8.30am. The dumped waste included furniture and 1,800kg of mixed waste, including wood, slate tiles, roofing felt, insulation and cladding.
Anyone with any information about the fly-tipping can contact [email protected]
Thanet council says this could include someone that has paid a contractor to clear their rubbish in good faith. All information received will be treated confidentially.
The council’s Street Scene Enforcement team deals with over 5,000 complaints of dumped rubbish and fly-tipping a year, and conducts daily patrols of known hotspots across the district.
There is CCTV at key locations in Thanet, which supports the work that the Street Scene Enforcement team does to investigate fly-tipping crimes.
Thanet council says people must use registered waste carriers to dispose of any household waste that cannot be collected by the council’s waste and recycling service. The council also provides a bulky waste collection service, to enable residents to dispose of larger items safely and responsibly. Business owners must use a commercial waste carrier to dispose of the waste their business generates.
In February Thanet council approved a 150% increase in fixed penalty fines for fly-tipping from the then- maximum of £400 up to £1000.
A rise was also be made in the fine for breach of care – when householders fail to hire registered third parties to dispose of waste properly – from £400 to £600.
The Environmental Offences (Fixed Penalties) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 that came into force on the 31st July 2023 has given local authorities the option to increase the fines issued under fixed penalty notices for fly tipping and waste and duty of care.
Thanet council hopes the increase fines to the maximum amount allowed will deter fly tipping, particularly by ‘professional’ fly tippers.
In 2022-23 local authorities in the country dealt with 1.8million fly tipping incidents.
Throughout 2022 Thanet council’s Street Scene Enforcement team investigated over 5000 reports with 2881 of those being fly tipping complaints. This equates to almost 8 fly tipping incidents a day.
The council now also has 10 re-deployable cameras which can be used, in part, to tackle fly tipping.
Residents are encouraged to report fly tipping incidents via an online form on the council’s website, where they can view updates on the status of their complaints.
Further information on the bulky waste collection service, and responsible ways to dispose of waste is available on the council’s website.
