Kent County Council (KCC) will host a ‘first-of-its-kind’ countywide fly‑tipping conference on 10th July. The conference will bring together councils, enforcement agencies, landowners and the waste industry to take coordinated action against fly‑tipping and waste crime.
Fly‑tipping is out of control, affecting streets, countryside and public spaces, placing pressure on local services and causing frustration for residents who see the same locations becoming known hotspots for repeated fly-tipping. It can also lead to threats and potential violence if people want to tackle the perpetrators.
As the waste disposal authority for Kent, KCC processed around 2,500 tonnes of fly-tipped waste in 2024/25 at a cost of around £345,000.
The conference will bring together organisations responsible for collecting waste, disposing of it safely, and investigating and prosecuting offences, with the aim of strengthening joint working and improving consistency across the system.
KCC will use the outcomes to shape future partnership working and coordinated action across the county.
It has already been suggested by some that local tips need to reduce some of the rules and stop charging for waste like hardcore and plasterboard which is mostly likely to get fly-tipped.
Leader of Kent County Council, Linden Kemkaran, said ‘Fly‑tipping is more than an environmental nuisance – it is illegal behaviour that scars neighbourhoods, damages our countryside and places a real financial burden on the people of Kent. Every time waste is dumped, council taxpayers end up paying for its safe removal and disposal, which takes money away from services communities rely on.’
‘When fly‑tipping is allowed to persist in the same places, there is a real risk it becomes normalised. That is unacceptable for residents who take pride in where they live, and it sends the wrong message to those who think they can dump waste without consequence.’
