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Kent could become the “toilet of England” in less than eight weeks, unless special toilets are provided for thousands of truckers who could be held in the county for hours by post-Brexit border controls, activists warned.
They say Kent’s main roads and sidings are already littered with urine bottles and bags of excrement and the problem could get worse after December 31st.
“It has the potential to be disgusting,” said Phil Silkstone, a regional official for Unite, who represents many truck drivers.
Mike Sole, a Liberal Democrat councilor in Canterbury who has been campaigning on the issue of human waste being disposed of in landfills near the A2 motorway, said: “I am concerned that Kent is becoming England’s toilet, not the garden of England. And we are all prepared for it to get a lot worse. “
The government has promised drivers that there will be portable toilets if the anticipated 7,000 trucks are stopped for new checks and balances at Kent ports if there is no Brexit trade deal.
But Unite says this will not be enough to prevent contamination of Kent’s hedges on a scale that will horrify local residents. “If all the government does is supply some Portaloos, the drivers are likely to take the other options, and that is to use the bushes,” Silkstone said.
He warned that the biggest problem would be around four truck parks that are currently being built in Kent to cope with the projected increase in vehicles held up at Channel ports.
Silkstone said: “The main concern is the well-being of our drivers, but also the well-being of local residents. It won’t be nice to have thousands of truck drivers potentially using the bushes around truck parks. All we need are adequate sanitary and washing facilities. The time to start installing them is not January, it is now. “
He added: “It is not a threat from us, but inevitably if drivers are forced to use bushes and avenues, the environment will be damaged in those areas. I hope the government listens ”.
On Wednesday, Silkstone wrote to all MPs in Kent and hundreds of councilors in south-east England warning them of the trouble ahead. He said: “Currently all we know is that portable toilets will be used which I am sure you will agree is not acceptable for drivers under normal circumstances, but even more so in the midst of this Covid-19 crisis, this brings health potential risks to all stakeholders, including local residents. “
Sole, one of the recipients of the letter, described the fault in a siding in her neighborhood east of Canterbury. “You have urine bottles lying all over the place. And also toilet paper and all kinds of clutter that people on the trails will find. While there is annoyance and dislike for the behavior, there is also sympathy for the drivers. It is imperative that the government helps provide adequate facilities for the truck drivers who play such an important role in maintaining the economy. “
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation referred the questions to Highways England. A spokeswoman for Highways England said: “We are working with various partners to implement contingency plans.” But he referred questions about the truckers’ toilet facilities to the Kent County Council and department.
A spokesperson for the Kent County Council said waste cleanup was the responsibility of the district and township councils.
He added: “Local partners are working together to plan a traffic management system that is better suited to the government’s available sites for cargo parking and controls. As part of that ongoing work, the government has ensured that there are restrooms for drivers at those sites around Kent. “
