Calls for action to tackle Towns' flytipping scourge
08:54, 08 June 2018
Concern is growing about the state of our streets, and the amount of rubbish being dumped.
Twitter accounts Luton Road, Chatham, and Mucky Medway posted so many images of litter on Sunday, that MP Tracey Crouch responded.
The Tory said: “I think it is a disgrace and it is disgusting.
“I welcome the initiative of the Twitter account for trying to draw attention to the issue and want to support them.”
Luton Road, Chatham Twitter account was set up by residents who feel their street is neglected.
The man behind it, who asked not to be named, said: “It has become normal to have a three-piece sofa outside your house.
“I have made more than three complaints a day, every day for three weeks, on just what I notice going to and from work. There has never been a day when I have looked when I haven’t found mass fly-tipping.
“This is why we must have a proactive response to litter/fly-tipping rather than a reactive one.”
The person behind the Mucky Medway Twitter account said: “Our street environment is crumbling and people are noticing this.”
While out meeting residents door-to-door on Sunday, Harinder Singh, Labour’s candidate for Chatham Central at next year’s council election, found of the 25 people he spoke to, all of them bar one brought up the problem of litter.
Medway Labour group leader Cllr Vince Maple said: “I think it’s a frustrated issue of people constantly reporting litter and getting fed up about it.
“For me it is about a lack of enforcement and the charges to get rid of bulky waste.”
Medway Council scrapped its free bulky waste removal service in April 2016.
It now costs £21 for residents to get rid of large rubbish rising to £38 on a non-bin collection day.
Rochester West councillor Stuart Tranter (Con) believes social media is making the magnitude of the litter appear worse than it is in reality.
He said: “It is a very localised issue that is not increasing. If there is an issue with litter in my ward I will deal with it. “Someone complained about the lack of bins in Borstal and I have organised for an extra one.
“It is not political - it is a human behaviour problem which has always been an issue.
“We have lots of festivals in Rochester and our environment team work very hard to clean up any mess left immediately.”
After a complaint about a swan seen nesting in litter, Cllr Tranter is organising a clean-up at Rochester Esplanade on Saturday, June 30.
The publicising of litter has shocked people into action, including Zoe Turner from Otterham Quay Lane, Rainham.
She decided to take her son and her friend’s daughter, both five, to Upnor Beach, next to the castle, to do a litter pick.
Zoe said: “The children were so shocked at what they saw there when we arrived. They thought it was disgusting and I was actually quite shocked myself.
“I saw on the news that plastic can be really harmful to wildlife. If everyone picked up six pieces of litter it would make a big difference so I decided to do my best to tidy it up.”
The trio filled several recycling sacks.
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