Litter enforcement agents will soon patrol across Medway to encourage residents and visitors to dispose of their waste responsibly to help keep Medway clean and tidy.
Medway Council is working in partnership with District Enforcement and, from the end of November, officers will visit Medway’s high streets and town centres and engage with residents to remind them to take their litter home with them or to dispose of it responsibly in one of Medway’s 1,454 litter bins.
For the first week, the enforcement agents will issue warnings to residents and visitors but they will have the powers to issue fixed penalty notices to people seen intentionally dropping, throwing or leaving rubbish behind, including dropping cigarette butts as well as to those who fail to clear up after their dogs.
The officers will start in Medway’s town centres before visiting areas across Medway. Residents are also encouraged to report littering and dog fouling to the council online and the enforcement team will visit these areas.
Ruth Du Lieu, Assistant Director of Frontline Services at Medway Council, said:
“We work hard all year round to keep Medway clean and tidy for residents and visitors to enjoy and this is spoilt by the minority of people who litter. Anyone who is witnessed intentionally dropping, throwing or leaving rubbish can be issued a fine for £150, or, if prosecuted, faces a fine up to £2,500. I would like to use this opportunity to encourage people to love Medway, hate litter, and dispose of their rubbish responsibly.”
Dyl Kurpil, Managing Director at District Enforcement Ltd, said:
“District Enforcement is excited to be working in partnership with Medway Council with the sole aim of reducing the amount of littering and dog fouling occurring on the streets within Medway.
We will recruit and train staff locally to ensure that the service is delivered with professionalism and in a way that best reflects the Council’s priorities. All areas of Medway Council will be covered to encourage a positive change of behaviour relating to litter and dog fouling incidents.
Utilising our time-tested model of ‘Engagement, Education and Enforcement’ along with the deployment of enhanced technology, we will actively support Medway Council’s Love Medway – Hate Litter campaign.”
Littering carries a £150 fine (reduced to £90 if paid within 10 days)
Dog Fouling carries a £100 fine (reduced to £70 if paid within 10 days)
Public Space Protection Orders such as dogs needing to be on leads in certain areas, for example, when they are next to a carriageway. This carries a £100 fine (reduced to £70 if paid within 10 days)
