If you suspect a vehicle has been abandoned on the highway or private land without permission, you can report it on our abandoned vehicles page. Please don’t report an abandoned vehicle as a fly-tip.
What is fly-tipping?
Fly-tipping is the illegal act of dumping liquid or solid waste on land or in water. The fly-tipper usually dumps the waste to avoid the cost of disposing of it legally.
Fly-tips are ugly, can be dangerous, and pollute the land or water. They also cost the taxpayer money as the Council has to clean up and dispose of the waste safely.
What isn't fly-tipping?
Below is a list of issues that we don’t class as fly-tips but people often report them to us as fly-tips by mistake:
- Rubbish or recycling put out for collection earlier than the night before or on the day collection is due
- Rubbish or recycling not put out in the proper wheelie bin, reusable sack or recycling container causing litter
- Rubbish or recycling left out somewhere that blocks footpaths or roads.
If you need to report one of the above issues please use the Contact us button below. Please do not report these as fly-tips.
Report fly-tipping on Council owned land
Seen someone fly-tipping or want to report a fly-tip on Council land? Please use the link below, giving as much detail as possible. We'll remove it within 48 hours unless:
- There’s an ongoing investigation relating to the fly-tip or
- we need to arrange specialist resources to remove it
Fly-tipping on private land
The Council is not responsible for clearing and collecting fly-tips on private land. This should be reported to the landowner.
Our Community Protection team can look into reports of fly-tipping on private land if there's evidence to identify who did it.
You can report fly-tipping on private land using the link above, but the landowner is responsible for cleaning it up, not the Council. Please provide as much detail as possible when reporting.
You can find out more using the link below.
Find out about environmental crime
If you discover fly-tipped waste
Do not:
- touch the waste - it may contain syringes, broken glass or other hazardous substances
- disturb the site - there may be evidence that could help us identify the person(s) responsible
Do:
- visually examine the waste to determine its contents and how much is there
- make a note of the date and time you saw the fly-tip, its exact location and whether it is in or near water
- take pictures of the waste
If you see someone fly-tipping
If you see someone fly-tipping make a note of:
- how many people were involved and a brief description of what they look like
- the contents of the fly-tip, what is the waste and how much is there
- details of any vehicles involved including make, colour and registration number
Penalty for fly-tipping
Dumping household, industrial and commercial waste illegally is a serious criminal offence.
We treat this problem very seriously and will seek to prosecute anyone caught fly-tipping waste.
- It carries an unlimited penalty if the case goes to the Crown Court
- An offender can be sent to prison
Fly-tipping is often associated with dumping waste from vehicles. We can prosecute the owner of the vehicle, as well as the person who actually dumped the waste.
It’s also possible to prosecute when only the vehicle, not the driver, has been identified. The police also have the powers to seize vehicles used for fly-tipping .