Fly-tipping

Fly-tipping is the dumping of rubbish on private or Council owned land without permission, or rubbish dumped on land where the owners do not have a Waste Management Licence.

We aim to remove fly-tipped items from Council owned land within five working days or one working day where the offence causes an obstruction or is considered dangerous. We treat fly-tipping very seriously and formal action will be taken against anyone caught flytipping or allowing their waste to disposed of inappropriately. Offenders will receive a fixed penalty fine or prosecution.

Please note: alleyways are not Council-owned and are the responsibility of the people whose properties have access to the alleyway.

Bulky waste collection

We provide a bulky waste collection for larger and/or bulky items.

Report fly-tipping

Report fly-tipping

What you need to tell us when you report fly-tipping

• The exact location
• A description of the items
• Roughly how much waste there is.

What you need to tell us if you witness fly-tipping

• The day, date and time it happened
• How many people were involved
• A description of the people involved
• What they were doing
• Any vehicles involved - make, colour, registration number
• What kind of view you had
• How far away you were
• Weather and lighting conditions
• Number of items dumped
• What it looked like.

Penalties

Fly-tipping

Fly-tipping is an offence. The fly-tipping of controlled waste is a serious criminal offence which carries a fine of up to £50,000 (unlimited if dealt with at Crown Court) or an offender may face a prison sentence.

Permitting fly-tipping

It is also an offence to allow fly-tipping. Householders have a Duty of Care to take reasonable measures to make sure their waste is disposed of correctly. Failure to do so could lead to a fine of up to £5,000.

Vehicles used in fly-tipping

Fly-tipping often involves waste being dumped from vehicles. In this case, the person controlling the use of the vehicle can also be prosecuted. This means we can take action even if we can't identify the driver. We also have the power to seize vehicles used for fly-tipping.

How to help us

You can help us by:

• reporting all fly-tipping
• not disturbing any fly-tipping you have discovered as there may be evidence that could help identify those who are responsible and lead to prosecution
• not touching the fly-tipped waste as it can be dangerous - it might include syringes, broken glass, asbestos, toxic chemicals or other dangerous substances.
• checking that the person you employ to remove your waste has a registered waste carrier licence. You can do this by contacting the Environment Agency on 08708 506506
• keeping receipts to show how your waste was disposed of as you may need to give officers proof that your waste was disposed of correctly.

In turn, we aim to remove fly-tipped items from Council owned land within five working days or one working day where the offence causes an obstruction or is considered dangerous.

How to avoid your rubbish being flytipped