Illegal waste crackdown operation for Maidstone

The problem of illegally dumped waste is being tackled by Maidstone Borough Council’s (MBC) waste crime team who have joined forces with Kent Police’s rural task force and roads policing unit.

During a two-day operation as part of the MBC #CleanupMaidstone campaign, 17 vehicles were stopped, one fixed penalty notice issued, and a vehicle seized. The owner was fined 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 vehicles stopped was being disposed of in the correct way and give out advice sheets to those people.

Councillor David Burton, leader of Maidstone Borough Council joined the operation on Friday, March 11. 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.