Overflowing bins, litter strewn across beaches and streets and a disabled portable toilet left to fester are some of the complaints after Thanet experienced an extremely busy Bank Holiday weekend.
In Margate parking was also an issue with vehicles left on double yellow lines and on pavements as visitors crammed into the town.
In Walpole Bay the disabled portable toilet was swimming in waste at the start of the bank holiday, making it unusable for visitors and in Broadstairs Viking Bay was covered in discarded rubbish after the crowds went home with a council litter picker making a valiant attempt to clean up this morning before being joined by volunteers.
Cliftonville East councillor Marc Rattigan (Reform) said hundreds of residents have been expressing their frustration after their bank holiday experience was ruined by overflowing bins and cars parked irresponsibly on pavements and corners, creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians.
Cllr Rattigan says one resident claimed they were informed by an enforcement officer that only two officers were on duty in the mornings with just one responsible for the entire area in the afternoons.
The deputy leader of the Thanet Reform party said: “In light of this bank holiday weekend, it has become increasingly clear that the Labour-led council’s planning and resource allocation are insufficient to manage the influx of tourists visiting our beautiful region.
“While I do not blame them for the litter, each bank holiday brings thousands of visitors to Thanet, which is vital for our local economy. When not managed correctly and efficiently, it negatively impacts the experience for both residents and tourists.
“On Monday morning at 9am, the bins along Margate seafront were still overflowing, while council refuse workers had only just begun their rounds. For many visitors, this is their first impression of our town, and it is crucial that we present a clean and welcoming environment.
“Unfortunately, this issue has become a recurring problem that tarnishes our reputation year after year.”
Cllr Rattigan says the weekend has ‘highlight a significant failure to fulfil’ TDC commitments to keep the isle safe and clean.
He added: “It is essential that a comprehensive plan is developed and implemented to ensure adequate resources and enforcement are in place for future bank holidays.
“We urge the council to take immediate action to address these concerns and prioritize the needs of both residents and visitors. Thanet deserves better, and it is time for our leaders to step up and ensure that our community remains a vibrant and welcoming destination.”
Broadstairs district and town councillor Mike Garner said: ““Yesterday (Monday) evening, both Viking Bay and the High Street down from the station were left strewn with litter and other debris.
“I’ve seen a lot of litter over the years but this was particularly bad. The beach itself was worse than I’ve ever seen it.
“What was especially disappointing was that all of the bins, on the beach and in the high street, were full and overflowing. There was nowhere for people who did want to clear up their rubbish responsibly to put it.
“ I know how hard the officers on duty work and appreciate how difficult it is, especially when so many people from across the county arrive in the town en masse, but we need to do better. We don’t just need more bins; we need the bins to be emptied more regularly.
“I’ve written to the cabinet member responsible asking for our plans for the summer season to be revisited to make sure we do all we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”
In Botany Bay there were complaints of people defecating and urinating in public, litter discarded in residents’ gardens and strewn across public land, cars blocking pavements, blocked access to people’s homes, and inconsiderate parking.
In Westgate there were also complaints of overflowing bins along the bays and beaches, particularly at West Bay.
In preparation for the busy summer season, more than 70 additional recycling and rubbish bins have been installed at locations around the coast by Thanet council.
TDC also teamed up with 25 artists to launch ‘B’inspired’, a public art project designed to give local recycling bins a colourful makeover aimed at reminding people to dispose of their litter responsibly.
Thanet council’s website says TDC provides and empties over 700 litter bins, including more than 40 recycling bins across the district. In the summer, extra bins are added in busy spots and along the walking paths.
The council has a dedicated team of street cleansing staff who work seven days a week and the authority hires extra street cleansing staff for the busy summer months.
Cllr Steve Albon, Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Coastal Services at Thanet District Council, said the sheer number of visitors, unprecedented volume of waste and traffic issues meant crews were unable to keep up with demand.
He said: “I hear the frustration of local residents and visitors who have been affected by the waste, litter and inconsiderately parked vehicles at some of our main beaches over the bank holiday weekend. Despite expecting it to be very busy, we were stretched to the limit and at some points were unable to keep up with the level of demand.
“The vast number of people out enjoying Thanet resulted in an unprecedented amount of waste being left behind and the increased traffic affected the ability of our crews to get around and collect it. As well as the usual waste we collect, people abandoned beach accessories, dinghies, broken parasols, children’s buggies and other items that should not be disposed of in beach bins. Crews have now removed all of this waste.
“Inconsiderate parking creates bottlenecks and can hinder the ability of the emergency services as well as the council’s own vehicles from reaching key locations. Enforcement officers issued 226 Penalty Charge Notices (parking fines) over the course of the weekend.
“Our cleansing and enforcement staff work incredibly hard in all weathers and each summer we bring in extra people, working extended hours, to make sure we’re providing the level of service that is needed and this year is no exception.
“We’d ask that everyone plays their part in helping us to reduce the volume of litter by taking it home if they can, parking responsibly or within designated car parks and generally respecting our towns and beaches.”
The council’s Waste and Recycling teams work extended hours during the summer months. Cleaning crews are on duty every day from 6am to 6pm, extended to 8pm when required, emptying the bins on the most popular beaches twice every day and collecting litter.
The council also employs litter pickers who cover Margate Main Sands, Joss Bay and Viking Bay in Broadstairs, and Ramsgate Main Sands.
Stupid criticism .How could any council cope with a 3day bank holiday heatwave. But they were out emptying the bins at 7 oclock this morning
I suggest you take a walk from Station Approach in Margate to the Harbour Arm. Canterbury copes with it, as do other Councils. TDC Refuse & Recycling are beyond useless.
Overflowing bins, beaches covered in litter and human feces, people pi–ing against gardens wall, traffic and parking chaos with next to no enforcement, residents trapped in their homes…..
Labour run TDC’s response? Organise a preachy art group. What a bunch of clowns.
This has got nothing to do with the political hue of T.D.C. It is about how the desk-bound salaried officers of T.D.C. recruit staff and the terms & conditions theses staff are given. Unfortunately for everyone else – Council Tax payers and visitors alike – the 9-5 Monday-Friday mindset of these Officers has problems coping with a comparitively fluctuating world.
I moved to Thanet, Broadstairs, in 1988. There wasn’t this problem then. In any of the towns. Simply because the numbers of visitors weren’t as great. In Broadstairs, 2006 was the year when everything changed. It was featured as the go to destination in national daily papers. Since then, the refuse has spilled out across Viking Bay, York St., Albion St., Pierremont Park, etc.
It all began in Margate with the opening of the Turner Centre and the constant national newspaper attention. “Cool Town” Cliftonville is now experiencing similar national media attention and detritus.
The Thanet District Councillors need to develop a plan to recruit casual staff en masse, along with chartering commercial waste vehicles, for bank holiday weekends, Folk Week, Soul Weekender, etc. The inflexible mindset of the 9-5 Brigade will not resolve this.
Agree, we know that the peak periods when Visitors will be hitting our towns/seascapes, it has always been “May” Bank Holidays & August Bank Holidays, yet while £ spent telling the World about our assets, £ is not spent on “extra” staff or, better still, adopting the MacDonalds & Aldi backroom recycling, by crushing cardbiard, plastic and compressing the rubbish, onsites,near Dane Park, or near St Johns cemetery. Collect, crush, compress, and do it more, not less often during height of “season”, or risk backlash like this, and watch all that Rwgeneratiin work “rubbished”. Shame on TDC for stripping services & staffing. Step up, or, watch Us slip down top “destination”.
Agree.
Where is the Strategy Unit, the team responsible for Community Safety & Quality of Life team? Safegusrding health, reputation, envirinment, our assets, our Reputation. More Litter Picjs is Not the Answer. Pay UB40 people fare wage & recruit Teams ahead if need.
this realy shows thanet in its true colours , no rose tinted glasses needed here
Yet again lazy hopeless waste rubbish collection how is this possible they can’t manage to collect recycling for residence thanet council a joke
Public Toilets all closed on Ramsgate main sands there are 3 Porto Toilets great poor family’s visitors and locals all queuing Council disaster embarrassing
Gents toilets by the bandstand in Broadstairs were closed too ! There was a constant long queue at the disabled toilet !
I have this terrible feeling of Deja Vu-proof that no matter who runs TDC they are all totally useless.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/07/01/hot-days-bring-the-return-of-litter-strewn-beaches-in-thanet-once-again/
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2024/07/31/summer-holidays-signal-return-of-rubbish-left-on-isle-promenades-and-beaches/
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2022/07/18/packed-thanet-beaches-result-in-tonnes-of-waste-left-behind-again/
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2021/06/13/council-worker-faces-losing-battle-in-attempt-to-clear-litter-from-margate-main-sands/
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2020/08/10/unusually-busy-weekend-in-thanet-results-in-450-penalty-notices-issued-and-dozens-of-sacks-of-rubbish-collected-by-volunteers/
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2019/07/31/thanet-council-confirms-criminnal-investigation-and-answers-questions-over-mountain-of-waste-at-margate-sands/
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2018/05/07/bank-holiday-sunshine-brings-visitors-and-rubbish-to-isle-beaches-and-proms/
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2017/08/07/bins-with-sensors-to-alert-crews-when-they-are-full-are-being-installed-along-thanets-coastline/
TDC really are crap! If only we could flush them away.
Sunday Ramsgate seafront opposite the tunnels public loos closed it was Very busy because of the Dunkirk weekend, and the useless TDC close you loo, well done TDC you never seem amaze people
It’s sad, depressing. The council’s failing badly plus beach-goers treat the beach as one big litter bin. I don’t lead a particularly sheltered life but I don’t think I know anybody who chucks their rubbish on the ground.
What doesn’t help Carina is people who find velcro puzzling who fail to secure their rubbish, and who put their rubbish out too early for collection, whenever that is! My road this morning looks like a 3rd wrld tip, with filth and squalour scattered about due to a foxes getting into Food Waste boxes! Its disusting!
Over the 3 day bank holiday weekend, the small litter bins In Cliftonville (Walpole Bay, Palm bay and the Ridings etc) were not emptied at all resulting in piles of litter surrounding each bin (recognised the same rubbish). This morning, and lunchtime today still not emptied. Yesterday morning asked a TDC litter crew emptying the large wheelie bins. They said will get emptied, but there is only one crew covering the whole of the Isle. I’ve also just driven through Margate seafront, it looks like a third world country with solid lines of litter (plastic bottles and cans etc)along each side of the road. All year round there is regularly litter strewn streets, but over the weekend and today is beyond a joke. Before, and now the impression is that TDC couldn’t care less with not enough litter bins and extremely poor planning. All councillors should be ashamed.
This was from five years ago. Five years to get a proper response in place. To manage visitor numbers. To avoid of all of this. Completed and utter failure.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2021/02/24/council-will-not-be-caught-with-its-trousers-down-by-predicted-surge-of-visitors-to-thanet-this-year/
“Binspired” surely the more a bin doesn’t look like a bin the less people will use it?!?
Indeed-recently some of them have been turned into some kind of Twilight Zone nightmare. People probably think they might end up stranded in another dimension if they put their hand near them.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/05/02/colourful-artwork-transforms-thanets-bin-in-binspired-project/
That’s bonkers. A bin’s a bin. Was there a single painted bin that wasn’t full to the brim and surrounded by bags of rubbish that people would have preferred to put IN it? Bin’s of all types were full.
Seems at lunchtime TDC was approached by Kathy for comment – It’s now 4 PM, so I’m assuming there was no response. If that proves to be so, then it shows the contempt they have for Council Tax payers. Billington et al are extremely quiet on the subject – another waste of space.
The Green Queen-if you ignore her lobbying for mass polluters prior to her election & lack of comment on environmental issues in Thanet.
I see Cllr Albon has now commented. The same excuses we get every summer. Overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of visitors… what a surprise, for a seaside resort. Resign you incompetent fool!
They say it every year-I have linked back a decade of it above. One would think extra steps would be taken, but they never are & that goes for Conservative, Labour & UKIP, who have all presided over the same nonsense during that time & before.
I worked the bins in the summer in 1999, one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. The beaches were rammed then, there’d be litter pickers sweeping the beaches and we’d do laps of thanet grabbing the black bags. It worked perfectly. During the quieter earlier periods we’d be sent to clear up fly tipped stuff whichever skanks decided to dump somewhere. Can’t see why something similar couldn’t be done. Maybe 2 crews starting at opposite ends of thanet just going round and round.
It’s also slightly ironic dogs are banned from the very beaches that are left filthier in one day than entire dog walking community would leave it in a year.
Cameron’s Britain and one of the many long term effects of austerity. Part of the slow breakdown of society. Institute a tourist tax somehow.
Overflowing bin chaos is an all year round problem.So TDC do not blame it all on tourism.
I reported a broken dog poo bin with 50 to 60 bags rolling around on the seafront.I t took rwo calls from myself and 7 weeks to clear.Guess what its happening again and rats are feeding there.My road has 10 to 20 pieces of litter in it every single day of the year from overflowing bins.It is never litter picked by you either.You are a disgrace and just as guilty as litter bugs.
I walked Albion Rd in Broadstairs the other day.No tourists visit there and every single step for a mile I was greeted with a piece of litter.The only bin was broken and spewing litter also.
The bins at either end of my road are emptied at 10am, full by 2pm and litter the area for the next 20 hors until emptied.
Not hard for a Labour council to work out that there arent enough bins.
Create a temporary P&R near Botany Rd , by ride I mean land trains , to the beach at a reasonable cost. Close the streets to all but residents. The money raised can pay for toilets and waste disposal. Don’t suppose Mr Albon will think of anything useful.
The fault lies with no one but the person in overall command. However, I would not be surprised to discover that the council officers have arranged it so that no one person can be held to account. That’s the modern way.
Not entirely true. The scum bags have got to be the first to blame, then idiots leaving bins out that can be got by local wildlife need to take some responsibility. I’m not sure how thick you’ve got to be to leave rubbish out for the gulls foxes and rats to get, but there’s a fair few out there. Or maybe they’re just part of the F you entitled brigade. Take responsibility for the rubbish you generate, the amount of it and do your best to make sure it doesn’t carpet your street etc etc.
it’s not hard.