Illegal waste will take years to clear, say locals

Waste can be seen left strewn across the beach

Residents living near an illegal waste site on the Isle of Sheppey coast say it will take many years to clean up the rubbish-strewn beaches.

They say dumped waste, ranging from tyres and shredded fabrics to asbestos and different types of plastics, has washed around the coast “like a giant soup” from the site known locally as Eastchurch Gap.

A court order was issued last year banning anyone from entering or tipping waste in the area, but large quantities of waste had already built up on the cliff base, with weeds and grass now beginning to grow over much of it.

The Environment Agency said it was determined to stop such “organised criminality”.

Greenery now covers much of the waste after tipping was stopped last summer

Belinda Lamb, from Medway Swale Estuary partnership, which organises monthly beach cleans, said: “There’s a lot of shredded carpet, material, fake grass, fake Christmas trees, work wear, hard plastics, very industrial stuff. It’s all been dumped off the cliffs in recent years and it all comes in on the big tides.

“I think it’s going to be continuous beach cleans that will do it because so much has come off the cliffs into the sea. It’s all just floating out there like a giant soup. So it’s just going to be a continuous job for many, many years.”

The local MP Gordon Henderson said tipping began in 2020 after a series of cliff collapses due to erosion caused a family home to slide down the cliff-face.

He said: “At one time, people living in Warden Road were seeing up to 50 lorries a day going up and 50 lorries a day going down. It wasn’t all about tipping rubbish off a cliff, it was the destruction of the local environment.”

A wide variety of waste has been picked up at the site

Swale Borough Council said it was part of a multi-agency group working on the issue.

It said it "took advice from a range of agencies, and it was determined the best course of action was to leave the tipped material where it is, due to the complexity of the coastal erosion in the area”.

A council spokesperson added: “We appreciate the efforts that the local community are making."

The site was closed by the Environment Agency last summer

It comes as investigations continue into other illegal waste sites elsewhere in Kent.

The Environment Agency said it was compiling a file for prosecutors over a long-running site at Borstal near Rochester.

Meanwhile, a site at Hoads Wood, near Ashford, has also been closed, and last month another large site came to light at Iwade, near Sittingbourne.

The Environment Agency said: “Waste crime spoils the natural environment, and we are aware of the impact this organised criminality has on communities and people’s enjoyment of their environment.

“We are steadfast in our fight against waste criminals. With the support of other agencies, including the police and local authorities, we are determined to ensure there is no space for waste crime.”