Fly tipping is when rubbish is dumped illegally. This includes household and business waste not disposed of correctly.

Examples of fly tipping of domestic waste include:

• leaving waste out on the road or pavement, even if outside your house
• leaving waste in a layby, alleyway, next to communal or public bins
• leaving waste beside your own or someone else’s bin, even if bagged
• giving your waste to someone else to dispose of who is not authorised by the Environment Agency to carry it.

Fly tipping is a serious criminal offence. If caught you will receive a Fixed Penalty Notice and can be prosecuted, fined, and even be sent to prison. The police have the power to seize vehicles used for fly tipping. If you allow your car or vehicle to be used for fly tipping, even if you are not driving yourself, you can still be held responsible. 

Flyposting is usually the advertisement of events through the display of material on buildings and street furniture without the consent of the owner.

How to report fly tipping

Firstly you can check to see if the issue has already been reported using our fly tipping incident map. If it is not on the map then you can report it to us using our online form.

You will be asked to provide information about the location and anything else that may be relevant such as:

• the day, date, and time
• whether you witnessed it happening
• what was tipped
• how much was tipped
• if there were any vehicles involved (make, colour, registration number or any company names on the vehicle).
• if you have any photos of the fly tip.

Please do not touch the waste or confront fly-tippers or put yourself in danger. 

Once we receive your report the information will be passed to officers who will carry out necessary investigations. The waste will be cleared if it is on public land at the earliest opportunity after this, but you will only be contacted if officers require further details.

Investigation and enforcement

We have a robust response to fly tipping and have contracted an external agency called Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) to undertake investigations into both domestic and business waste fly tips. Where sufficient evidence is found, officers will trace the perpetrators and where appropriate, issue them with a fixed penalty notice. WISE will also be fining people for littering and visiting businesses in the area to ensure they’re managing and disposing of their waste correctly.

Removal of fly tip

We will only remove fly tipping from public land, roads, and lay-bys. If the fly tip is on private land, it is the landowner’s responsibility to remove it however WISE will investigate to try to gather evidence as to who is responsible. You may notice a small delay between reporting the fly tip and its removal whilst investigations are ongoing.

Protecting land from fly tip

If you find that you are the victim of repeated fly tipping, the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group suggests a number of prevention measures such as installing barriers, improving visibility and lighting, placing appropriate signage, CCTV and clearing away waste quickly.