Environment & health

Report fly-tipping and waste on land

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste.

Fly-tipped waste can be found anywhere, such as roadsides, in lay-bys or on private land. The waste could include:

household waste
large domestic items, such as fridges and mattresses
garden waste
commercial waste such as builders rubble, tyres and clinical waste.

It is an offence to fly-tip any material, carrying a fine upon conviction of up to £50,000 or 1-year imprisonment. When fly-tipping from a vehicle, we can prosecute the registered keeper when only the vehicle and not the driver is identifiable.

Report fly-tipping

You can report fly-tipping to us online. We will need details of where the waste is and any other information you have, such as if you saw the person dumping the waste.

Report fly-tipping on Ashfield 24/7

If you witness a fly-tip:

do not approach them
do not go near the rubbish until you are sure it is safe and do not touch anything
note the date, time and place where it happened
note what the waste looks like and how much there is
note a description of any vehicles involved and vehicle registration numbers if possible
note a description of the person dumping the waste such as their height, age, and whether they were a man or a woman.

Once reported, we will visit the scene to see how much rubbish there is and if it is our responsibility, we will remove it. We will also look for evidence, with a view to prosecuting offenders. We will normally remove fly-tipped rubbish as soon as possible. Some fly-tipping may require specialist removal.

Fly-tipping on private property is the responsibility of the landowner to remove. We may be able to provide help to deal with landlords who do not clear up rubbish on their land.

Your responsibility when disposing of waste

It is your responsibility to check that anyone you pay to remove waste from their property is a registered waste carrier. Details of registered waste carriers can be found on the Environment Agency website.

You should ask to view their certificate and always get a receipt confirming what they have taken, where they have disposed the rubbish and details of any payment made. If any waste is traced back to the household where it came from the householder could be fined.

If you have any bulky waste such fridges, freezers, tables, chairs, televisions or other big items to get rid of you can book a collection through us. You may also be able to dispose of them at tips.