Fly-tipping

On this page:
- What is fly-tipping
- What to do if you discover a fly-tip
- Report fly-tipping
- Tackling fly-tipping

What is fly-tipping?

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of household or trade waste. It can vary in size, from as little as a single bag of rubbish to domestic items such as furniture and fridges.

We remove fly-tipping from publicly-owned land, which includes roads and lay-bys.

If the fly-tip is on private land, it is the responsibility of the land owner to remove it. Homeowners and tenants are responsible for ensuring that their rubbish is properly disposed of. Fly-tipping does not include a build-up of waste on a nearby property. Read more about accumulations of rubbish.

If you wish to report smaller amounts or pieces of litter, you can report littering or overflowing bins to us instead.

If you find supermarket trolleys do not report them to us as fly-tipping. Report abandoned supermarket trolleys to Trolley Wise (opens new window) or contact the supermarket directly.

What to do if you discover a fly-tip

If you discover fly-tipped waste do not:

• approach the person(s) fly-tipping
• touch the waste
• disturb the site
• ignore it

Instead you should inspect the waste and then report it, using as much detail as possible.

Report fly-tipping

To report a fly-tip to us, you will need to know:

• the location of the fly-tip

• the type of land it was on

• the type of waste fly-tipped

• the size of the fly-tip

You can also upload images of the fly-tip if you have them.

If you witnessed the fly-tip, we will also ask for as much detail as possible. This may include times, dates, vehicle details, company details and a description of the fly-tipper. We will also ask you to leave your details in case we need any further information, although you can choose to remain anonymous if you prefer.

Report fly-tipping

If you're reporting gas canisters or hazardous waste such as chemical drums or asbestos outside of office hours, please call 0191 478 7665.

What we do

There are three main ways that we tackle fly-tipping:

• we use state-of-the-art CCTV to catch offenders
• we have a team of professionals who investigate every case
• we have the legal power to issue fixed penalty notices to fly-tippers, which can lead to prosecution

If you have been issued with a FPN, you can pay it on our website.

What you can do

There are many ways you can help tackle fly-tipping, these include:

• making sure any tradespeople you hire dispose of your waste responsibly
• making sure all your waste is kept secure until it's collected
• asking to see a Waste Carrier Certificate when using a private company
• asking a private company where they intend to take the waste

Registered waste carriers can be checked at the Environment Agency public register (opens new window).

Ways to dispose of waste

There a number of legal ways to dispose of your waste. For example, you can:

• organise a bulky waste collection for large unwanted item
• visit your local household waste and recycling centres
• donate or sell your unwanted items or furniture - visit our reduce and reuse page for more information