by Alan Smith
ajsmith@thekmgroup.co.uk

It’s started. It’s exactly what many residents predicted would happen once Kent County Council brought in harsh new rules at Tovil tip.

Some motorists turned away from the Household Recycling Centretip in Burial Ground Lane have begun fly-tipping their rubbish in the neighbouring lanes.

A dumped mattress, several bags of rubbish and a tyre appeared in Lower Road, East Farleigh, in the entrance to an orchard - as it happens almost opposite the home of Tovil Parish Council chairman Glyn Charlton.

Another mattress and more bags have been dumped in the car park at East Farleigh Station.

To save costs, KCC has introduced tough new restrictions at the busy waste station limiting the size of trailers and types of vehicles that people are permitted to use to transport their rubbish.

Those turning up with pick-ups, in high 4x4s or with large trailers have been turned way.

what a waste!

the kent messenger will be monitoring the extent of the problem - and applying pressure on kent county council to change its policy at tovil tip. please register your support by writing to us and ‘liking’ our ‘what a waste’ facebook page

The leader of Maidstone council, Cllr Chris Garland, said they were prepared to deal with a “spike” in fly-tipping, but predicted that it would be short-lived.

He said: “We are already hot in coming down on those caught fly-tipping and we shall be increasing our vigilance to deal with anyone who offends.
“People will soon get the message that it doesn’t pay to fly-tip in Maidstone.”

It is one of the peculiarities of our two-tier council system that while the county council is responsible for running the waste collections sites, it is the borough council that is responsible for dealing with fly-tipping.

Anyone who spots someone dumping rubbishfly-tipping is asked to note a description of the person and vehicle involved, the exact time and place, and report the details to the police on the non-emergency 101 number.

To have fly-tipped rubbish removed, report it to Maidstone council on 01622 602162.

• If you see fly-tipped waste in Maidstone, please email us on messengernews@thekmgroup.co.uk, sending a digital photograph of the rubbish if possible.