00:0080 hectares of woodland, wildlife and unfortunately rubble.
00:06Hornswood, near Ashford in Kent, is a biological site of special scientific interest.
00:12This means it is protected for its wildlife or geography.
00:17But Hornswood was a feature in a House of Lords inquiry for other reasons.
00:21It has become a dumping ground for waste and debris.
00:25The inquiry revealed that each year more than 38 million tonnes of waste
00:30is being disposed of illegally by organised crime groups.
00:34More than 30,000 tonnes of this has been in Hornswood,
00:38in some places mounting to 12 feet high mounds of rubbish,
00:42a problem that started in 2020 and worsened two years ago.
00:47Fly tipping in general across Kent has garnered concern from residents.
00:52There's people flying outside their houses and it's all across the pavement.
00:57In the alleyways. It's in the alleyways. People dump stuff in the alleyways.
01:00They have a favourite place which is usually opposite our place as well, isn't it?
01:04I don't know what goes through people's minds.
01:06I know that you have to put an effort in to get rid of stuff properly,
01:09but at the end of the day, it's harming the environment.
01:12The Environment and Climate Change Committee sent a letter to Emma Reynolds,
01:16Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
01:20and labelled measures to address waste crime such as that in Hornswood
01:24as critically underprioritised, recommending an independent review.
01:29In a letter to the committee, Kent's police and crime commissioner,
01:32Matthew Scott, expressed his support for this.
01:35He said,
01:36Together with the Environment Agency, Kent police and local authorities,
01:41I am committed to creating a joint approach.
01:44And I am pleased to see that the inquiry has made some recommendations to the government,
01:48including the need to ensure that the Environment Agency is appropriately funded and staffed.
01:53The eight recommendations include DEFRA setting and checking up on targets,
01:58and taking a multidisciplinary approach.
02:01But those living in Kent seem to want a more localised solution.
02:06People go to the tips again. I mean, where do you go?
02:10I mean, you have to make passes now before you can go in.
02:14I think the government needs to step in and to actually spend more money on the local areas.
02:21Yeah, people have to book in.
02:23Also, the council used to pick things up for free.
02:25Now they don't.
02:26That must, you know, encourage people to put it somewhere else.
02:29I think they could bring that back.
02:31Megan Shaw for Kame TV in Hoodswood.
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