Fly-tipping
Fly-tipping is illegally dumping waste. This could be on the side of the road, on private land or in rivers.
It is a criminal offence and anyone found guilty of fly-tipping can be fined up to £50,000 and face up to six months in prison. This can be increased to five years if hazardous waste is dumped, such as toxic waste or asbestos. If convicted in the crown court, fines are unlimited and a prison sentence of up to five years can be imposed.
It is also illegal for an owner or occupier of land to allow someone to dump rubbish on their land if they do not have a waste management licence or an exemption.
Report Fly-tipping on public land
If you see rubbish being fly-tipped, you can report it to us online. The following information can be useful when investigating fly-tipping:
- where the incident took place
- date and time
- a description of what has been tipped and the quantity
- what happened, how many people were involved, what did they look like and what they did
- if a vehicle was involved, and if so, the vehicle’s details
Do not approach anyone you see fly-tipping yourself in case the situation escalates.
To report fly-tipping on council owned or public land, please contact:
Report fly-tipping on private land
If rubbish is fly-tipped on private land and there is no evidence of who dumped it, action can be taken against the owner or occupier of the land if:
- the owner or occupier let someone dump the rubbish of their land
- if the rubbish encourages vermin such as rats, or is a health hazard(please note this does not include risk of injury).
To report fly-tipping on private land, please contact the Shared Regulatory Services.
Registered waste carriers
Residents must take care when employing traders or contractors who remove any waste from their property. They can be fined up to £5,000 if their rubbish is fly-tipped, even if they did not physically dump it themselves.
Use a registered waste carrier to remove waste. If you use a private company make sure you:
- ask to see their certification. They must be a registered or an exempt waste carrier to take away your waste.
- ask where they will take the waste. It should only be to an authorised site. A legitimate waste carrier will not mind you asking questions.
If you are a business, you must make sure you get a Duty of Care Waste Transfer Note from the waste carrier.
Book a bulky waste collection
The service costs £21.42 for up to three items. Additional items can be collected for £5.57 each, up to a maximum of 15 items. There is no limit on how many times you can book a bulky waste collection.
Please note: The bulky waste collection service is not available for businesses or landlords as this is trade waste.