The proposals come in a report to Maidstone Borough Council by its environment Committee which blamed an increase in illegal dumping in the borough on three main factors: the introduction of the Landfill Tax, a new council charge for the collection of bulky waste and restricted access to the civic amenity site.
Builder
The report contains input from a range of sources including the Environment Agency. Landfill Tax, at 13 per tonne, was judged to have the largest impact on fly-tipping and Colin Buckle, an Agency environment protection officer, explained: ” Because of the high cost, there is now more temptation to tip illegally. The average jobbing builder has seen a huge increase in the fees charged for disposal of waste.”
New height barriers and restricted opening hours at the Tovil household waste recycling centre also increased waste dumping. Mr Buckle told the committee: “A lot of fly-tipping happens when a local amenity site is closed at an unexpected time. In one incident a site was closed on a Sunday when it should have been opened and 142 people were caught fly-tipping in the vicinity.”
The borough's relatively high number of major roads and motorways, which are popular sites for dumping, and its fast food restaurants, which contribute to littering, also contribute to fly-tipping.
Packaging
To help tackle the problems, the committee recommended improving recycling facilities and reducing packaging waste – particularly plastics. It said that the council would consider ending charges for the removal of bulky waste, especially for people on low incomes, and resolved to push the government to subsidise the expensive disposal of hazardous waste.
The report showed the influence of initiatives in the UK and Ireland. It praised a recent Irish initiative that banned free plastic bags and introduced a tax on them and also highlighted a system in Newcastle upon Tyne where prosecutions for littering can be made over rubbish put out on the wrong days. The report also noted a policy pioneered in Lewisham of 'naming and shaming' offenders convicted of littering and fly-tipping in the press.
The full report can be seen at: digitalmaidstone.co.uk
For a copy, email: committee@maidstone.co.uk.
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