We give fines of up to £80 to people who drop litter or
let their dogs foul in Thanet.
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Thanet is beautiful
Thanet Community Safety
Partnership
Contact Us
Let's work together to keep Thanet beautiful.
To report fly tipping, dumped rubbish and dog fouling
call 01843 577777.
Drop it and cop it!
Is one of the hard hitting messages in a new
anti-litter campaign, launched by Thanet District Council this
summer.
A follow up to the successful Thanet is
Beautiful campaign, which highlighted the natural beauty of our
area and why everyone should work together to keep it beautiful,
the new campaign concentrates on the more unpleasant aspects of all
types of litter.
The year long campaign is focusing first on
our busy high streets and beaches during the summer season and is
aiming to raise awareness of how much of a problem litter is.
Did you know?
Each year, the council’s bill for cleaning up
Thanet amounts to around £3 million and that has to be picked up by
every taxpayer.
Look out for the campaign slogans
The images this time remind people that if “you chew it, you
MUST bin it” and there are “no butts, bin it”, with one design
showing man’s best friend with the message “don’t give your dog a
bad name, pick up after them.”
The message will be promoted through posters, flyers, local
newspapers and radio, with the council’s team of community wardens
and Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) around Thanet
championing the campaign with people they meet.
Cllr. Shirley Tomlinson is in charge of
cleaning up the problem. “Litter is essentially anything that’s
dropped by anyone on the streets, no matter how large or small it
is, so that includes cigarette butts and chewing gum. A lot of
people seem to think that’s not littering, but it is and we won’t
tolerate it. This applies to everyone – there’s no exclusions.”
Something else that’s classed as litter is
allowing your dog to foul and not picking it up afterwards.
Sometimes you find that some people even pick up after their dog,
but then leave the bag on the pavement, rather than putting it in a
bin, which defeats the whole idea of cleaning up after your dog.
Not only is dog poo in our parks, streets and beaches unpleasant,
but it’s also a health hazard and the council’s team of cleaners
are left to pick up the mess that irresponsible dog owners have
left, which gives dogs a bad name.
Just like dropping litter, cigarette butts and
chewing gum, if you’re seen allowing your dog to foul and not
picking up after it, then you’re breaking the law and you’ll be
handed a Fixed Penalty Notice fine of up to £80. That’s a lot
of money to pay just for failing to use a bin, when there are
actually hundreds all over Thanet.
Use the bins and you could win £500!
There’s also a reward side to the campaign,
which will see those people who do use the bins thanked and given a
golden ticket by our community wardens and PCSO’s to be part of a
prize draw to win £500, with the winner selected in mid September.
Also, as part of the campaign, we’re looking to give away
thousands of dog poo bags and cigarette disposal pouches to
encourage people to support the campaign and help to keep Thanet
beautiful.
But it’s not just about litter thrown on the
street, it’s also about those people who put their black sacks of
rubbish out for collection on the wrong day, who could find
themselves in trouble as well. The longer black bags are left out
on the streets, the more chance there is that seagulls will get to
them and will end up scattering rubbish everywhere. That’s why
putting black sacks out on the wrong day of the week could also
earn you a fine of £80.
Another problem is fly tipping - or illegally
dumped rubbish - but the penalties for this are a lot higher and
anyone tempted to illegally dump their waste needs to think
carefully, as it’s a criminal offence and can land you with a fine
of up to £20,000!
We’re asking residents to take part in the campaign, so if you see
anyone fly tipping, dog fouling or see dumped rubbish please get in
touch by calling 01843 577000. Any information about who’s
responsible will be used by the council to try and take action
against those who spoil our area.
That’s something that Cllr. Tomlinson fully backs. “There’s no
excuse not to use a bin or take your litter home with you and
everyone, whether they live in or visit Thanet, has a
responsibility to keep Thanet beautiful.”
If you have any comments about the Drop it and
Cop it campaign, please email customer.services@thanet.gov.uk