Fly-tipping

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of rubbish or bulky items on land not licensed to receive it.

Fly-tipping can be dangerous.  It pollutes land and waterways and costs the council tax payer significant amounts of money to clear away.

Report fly-tipping on Council owned land

If you see someone fly-tipping or wish to report fly-tipped waste on council land, please report it to us, giving as much detail as possible.  We will remove within 48 hours unless:

• there is an ongoing investigation relating to the fly-tip or
• we need to arrange specialist resources to remove it

Vehicles including cars, motorbikes, caravans and trailers, should be reported through our abandoned vehicles process.  Please do not report as a fly tip.

Report fly-tipping

Fly-tipping on private land

The Council is not responsible for clearing and collecting fly-tips on private land, which should be reported to the landowner.

However, our Public Protection team may investigate reports of fly-tipping on private land. Further details of this can be found on our environmental crime pages.

If you discover fly-tipped waste

Do not:

• touch the waste - it may contain syringes, broken glass, asbestos, toxic chemicals or other hazardous substances
• disturb the site - there may be evidence that could help identify the fly-tippers and lead to their prosecution

Do:

• visually try to work out what the waste consists of and how much there is
• make a note of the day, date and time you saw the tipping, its exact location and whether it is in or near water

If you see someone fly-tipping

If you see someone fly-tipping make a note of:

• how many people are involved and what they look like
• what has been tipped - how much and what it looks like
• details of any vehicles involved including make, colour and registration number if possible

Penalty for fly-tipping

Dumping household, industrial and commercial waste illegally is a serious criminal offence, it:

• carries a fine of up to £20,000 (unlimited if the case goes to the Crown Court) or
• an offender can be sent to prison

We treat this problem very seriously and will usually prosecute anyone caught fly-tipping waste.

Fly-tipping is often associated with dumping waste from vehicles. In this case the person who owns the vehicle can also be prosecuted.  This means that it is possible for a prosecution to occur when only the vehicle, not the driver, is identifiable. The police also have the powers to seize vehicles used for fly-tipping.