Kingdom has been awarded a three year contract to tackle litter and dog fouling in Thanet, Kent, after a 12 month trial from June 2015. The contract company’s Environmental Protection Division had four officers issuing £80 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to anyone caught dropping litter or not cleaning up after their dogs on Thanet’s streets, beaches and open spaces.
Those officers have issued over 3300 Fixed Penalty Notices. Anyone who has refused to pay the fine has been faced with a court case, which could then lead to a conviction and a fine of up to £2,00.
The firm has also been running their Bin It To Win It scheme in Thanet, whereby members of the public who are spotted by officers putting their litter in a bin are given an entry form, allowing them to be entered in a monthly prize draw for £50 of shopping vouchers.
Thanet cabinet member for Operational Services Councillor Suzanne Brimm said: “Littering is an antisocial activity which negatively impacts both residents and visitors to the district. Over the year we feel that the Environmental Enforcement Officers have helped to reduce the amount of litter and dog mess which is present on our streets and open spaces. I am pleased that we have been able to appoint Kingdom on a long term contract so that they can continue this good work.”
Thanet originally tried Kingdom’s services because they were spending £1.2m a year to clean the district’s streets. The contractor, an ACS Pacesetters firm, provides Environmental Protection Services for eight councils in Kent: Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone Borough, Swale Borough, Canterbury City, Gravesham Borough, Thanet, Dartford Borough and Ashford Borough.
Michael Fisher, divisional director at Kingdom, said: “On behalf of Kingdom and all the members of the Environmental Protection Division I am delighted that Kingdom has been chosen to continue the work we started 12 months ago, with the aim of making the streets and public spaces of Thanet cleaner and a healthier place for the community to reside. We have received great support from the officers and members of Thanet District Council but also from the community who in the main support the efforts to free the streets of litter and dog excrement.
“We will continue to work alongside our local authority colleagues in an ‘intelligence led’ manner concentrating on litter hotspots identified from diverse sources within the district.”
