News MBC Waste Crime team join Police for joint op
Maidstone Borough Council’s (MBC) Waste Crime Team joined forces with Kent Police’s Rural Task Force and Roads Policing Unit in joint operation’s to stop people illegally dumping their waste and help the MBC #CleanupMaidstone campaign.
During the two-day operation, they stopped 17 vehicles, issued one Fixed Penalty Notice, seized a vehicle and fined the owner for carrying waste without holding a Waste Carriers Licence.
The MBC Waste Crime team were able to make sure that any waste in each of the 17 vehicles stopped was being disposed of in the correct way and give out advice sheets to those people.
Cllr David Burton, Leader of Maidstone Borough Council joined the operation on Friday 11 March, he said:
“It was great to be with our team out working alongside the police actually engaging with people carrying waste. Many did have the correct documentation in place but I wholeheartedly support our zero tolerance approach to those that flout the law”.
#CleanUpMaidstone reminds residents and businesses across the borough that waste is everyone’s problem and that we all have a role to play in solving it. Using parodies of popular TV programmes, the new MBC campaign shows littering is wrong, that it is an offence to litter and if caught people will be fined. It also illustrates how everyday irresponsible waste disposal can impact the environment and how we live.
Since holding these joint operations The Waste Crime team are now seeing a decline in the number of illegal waste carriers operating in Maidstone, due to the work of the Team and partner agencies in tackling waste offenders.
To report a fly tip or any waste dumped anywhere in the borough visit: https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/street-care-and-cleaning