Some 13 Kent councils and the Kent Resource Partnership (KRP), a county council waste management group, have written to the Magistrates Association to urge more efforts to tackle fly tipping and waste crime across the county. The letter sets out the impact of fly tipping on the county.
The costs to Kent taxpayers include councils carrying out fly tipping clearances and taking on investigations. Councils’ limited resources are being diverted from other front-line services. Many fly tips blight the countryside and beauty spots. As police point out, fly tipping is mainly done on a large scale by organised crime groups who are likely to be using money from fly tipping to fund other crime.
The letter asks magistrates for a virtual meeting between representations from the councils and the Association; to go over how sentencing on fly tipping is determined in magistrates’ courts and whether there are local differences councils ought to factor; and what it will take to see more punishment of fly tipping offenders, particularly those who are part of organised crime.
Tim Valentine, cabinet member for the environment at Swale borough council, said: “We are pleased to be involved with the other 12 Kent councils and the Kent Resource Partnership to crack down on waste crime. We’ve attended and cleared away almost 2,000 incidences of fly tipping already this year and are working hard to clean up the mess that is left behind for local people to deal with.
“Despite our efforts, there has been an increase in fly tipping this year and we urge the courts to deliver greater punishment for the criminals who repeatedly break the law in this way. Not only are they duping the people who think they are having their waste taken away by a reputable person or company, but they are ruining the local environment for everybody.”
Eddie Thomas, deputy cabinet member for the environment at Swale, said that household waste and recycling centres are open, so there is no excuse for people to dispose of their waste illegally. Appointments can be pre-booked on Kent County Council’s website; and Swale collects beds, mattresses, sofas, televisions and computer monitors, white goods, carpets and lawnmowers as part of a bulky item collection service.
Picture by Mark Rowe, fly-tipped mattress, woodland near Sevenoaks, Kent.
