The coronavirus clampdown has led to a scandalous increase in fly-tipping across Kent.

Once dubbed the Garden of England, the county is turning into a giant dumping ground because of a double-whammy.

People stuck at home have taken the opportunity to clear out rooms, garages and gardens of unwanted clutter. But because council tips are closed they have nowhere to take it.

Unscrupulous residents have dumped old furniture and rubbish in woods, at beaches and beside roads.

Two men were even captured on CCTV dropping fridges from the back of a van in the middle of a road at night on Sheppey creating a danger to unsuspecting motorists.

Furious resident Carol Davies from Herne Bay said: "Kent is now the rubbish dump of England."

Some councils have also been forced to reduce bin collections because of staff shortages.

Michael Valenzia, south east regional director of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said: “It is shocking to hear reports of fly-tipping especially at this time of lockdown. The closure of tips is understandable but can’t be used as an excuse to dump rubbish in our countryside."

He added: “Farmers and landowners are victims of this crime yet have to clear up fly-tipped waste which we estimate to cost about £900 an incident."

Since the outbreak of coronavirus there has been an increase in fly-tipping across the Sevenoaks district, specifically at recycling and bottle banks.

Cabinet member for ‘Cleaner and Greener’ Cllr Margot McArthur said: "It is such a shame that a minority of people are choosing to dump their rubbish at this time.

"We are putting all our resources into making sure rubbish and recycling is still collected weekly. But removing this abandoned rubbish is very time consuming.

"We understand that the closure of the local tips may create a short-term storage issue for some residents but fly-tipping is not the answer. It also represents a health hazard for residents and those who have to remove it.”

She warned that waste could be tracked to its owner which could lead to a conviction, fine and a criminal record.

Swale council, which serves Faversham, Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey, said it had not seen any increase in fly-tipping since the outbreak of Covid-19.

A spokesman said: "We are working closely with our contractors to ensure that bin collections are maintained. Residents have been very understanding and supportive of our frontline staff who are working hard to keep these essential services going while the country bands together to stop the spread of the virus.”

But there have been reports of increased tipping on Sheppey at West Minster, the Ship on Shore car park in Sheerness and at Eastchurch.

A Kent County Council spokesman said: “We know household waste recycling centres are a much-valued service and the decision to close them was not taken lightly.

"But government guidance says people should stay at home except for shopping; exercise; medical need or travelling to work.

“Before the closure, we were finding it impossible to maintain social-distancing for either users or our staff. Longer queues were also causing safety problems on the highway."

He said running a reduced service would only make the situation worse so KCC staff had been redeployed to help in roadside collections and to ensure waste transfer stations remained open for household waste.

He insisted the tips' closures should not automatically lead to more fly-tipping as the vast majority of residents are "law-abiding and keen to dispose of their waste appropriately."

He said all councils will clear fly-tipping where it was safe and will continue to investigate the cause and take enforcement action.

He stressed residents should only use licensed waste carriers and said KCC tips will reopen as soon as government guidance and staffing levels allowed.

Jamie Duffy, waste crime manager at Maidstone Borough Council, said: “The Waste Crime Team will not tolerate any act of fly-tipping within the borough. We are continuing to monitor the area for potential fly-tipping offences. During these unusual times we need to ensure that our waste is removed correctly and not just fly-tipped.

“We understand residents want to have a tidy-up while they are indoors but they need to ensure they have the ability to store any waste they may be creating until things get back to normal. We work closely with police on all aspects of waste crime and will continue to enforce against anyone fly-tipping.”

You can report incidents using the council's 'report it' button on its website at www.maidstone.gov.uk.

* Fly-tipping can be reported to local councils via www.gov.uk/report-flytipping or anonymously to Crimestoppers by phoning 0800 555 111 or by taking a photo and sending it to the ClearWaste app (clearwaste.com) which automatically forwards details to the correct authority.

Council collects £285,000 in tip fees.

It cost KCC just over £30,000 in fencing to create secure compounds in all its 18 tips when it introduced additional charges for rubble in June last year. But in the nine months since then it has collected £285,000 in tip fees.

A six-month review to be published shortly says overall tonnage dumped at the tips has reduced by nearly a quarter - including chargeable and non-chargeable materials - since the new fees were introduced and savings have been in line with predictions.

In the same time, fly-tipping delivered to KCC’s Waste Transfer Stations by other councils decreased by 1% compared to the previous year.

KCC says there has been a reduced number of traders illegally exploiting its sites and cross-border use of tips by residents from outside Kent, especially at Sevenoaks, has reduced.

Skip permit applications increased by 6%.

Beware fires

There has been an increase in the number of 999 calls about rubbish fires since the coronavirus lockdown.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service's assistant director for resilience Lee Rose said: “We are monitoring what impact the current Covid-19 isolation situation is having on the type of incidents we are attending but it is clear there have been more bonfires across the county and more people noticing them in recent weeks.

“With lots of people staying home in line with government advice, we’re getting more calls from concerned residents seeing smoke and being unaware it is coming from a controlled burn."

He wants anyone planning a bonfire or fire pit to tell neighbours in advance to help reduce the number of non-emergency calls.

It is believed the increase in bonfires is linked to the warmer weather and the closure of household waste tips.

The fire service may not respond to call-outs where burning is taking place in a controlled and responsible manner.

Safety tips include building a bonfire away from buildings, sheds, fences, hedges and overhanging branches.

Fires should be kept to a manageable size and built so they collapse inwards. A bucket of water or hosepipe should be kept nearby in case it gets out of control.

Bonfires and barbecues should not be left unattended and should be dampened down when finished.

Fire bosses reminded people to stay home and safe and to avoid country parks and coastal areas.

Canterbury City Council has posted tips on dealing with garden waste on its website after cancelling its own collections and has warned residents to only use a licensed carrier if they need the rubbish taken away.

Spokesman Rob Davies said: "Beware of companies offering to take your garden waste for a fee. If they don't have a licence there is a risk they will take it away and dump it in the countryside.

"If you do use a waste carrier, ask to see their licence, ask for a receipt and keep a note of any vehicle registration. If you don’t, you could be prosecuted as well as the fly-tipper if your rubbish is found where it shouldn’t be."

He also asked residents to be careful if burning waste on a bonfire.

He said: "Complaints are flooding into our environmental health team which should be focussing its attention on helping food businesses stick to the new government rules.

"We can’t stop you having a bonfire unless you do it so regularly or set one so big that it becomes a public nuisance.

"But we can ask you to use your common sense and think about your neighbours who may be poorly or have underlying health conditions such as asthma.

"Or they might have kids playing in the garden or have their washing out to dry."

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