Tameside Environmental Enforcement Strategy FAQ

What is fly-tipping?

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste instead of using a kerbside waste collection or authorised rubbish dump.

Last year the clearing of litter and fly-tipping cost the council approximately £300,000. This is money that could and should be spent elsewhere. Fly-tipping also has a cost in terms of blighting our streets and damaging how people feel about their community.

While the exact figures will vary, on average the council takes action over 300 cases of fly-tipping a month.

Please follow these simple steps if you discover fly-tipped waste after the tippers have left:
Do not touch the waste. Fly-tipped waste can be dangerous and may contain syringes, broken glass, asbestos or other toxic/dangerous substances.
Do visually inspect the waste. Try to see how much of it there is and what is in it.
Do take note of its exact location; particularly if it is in or near water.
If you see evidence of who has left the waste please do not remove it yourself. It cannot be used as evidence if it has been removed from its original location.
Report it at www.tameside.gov.uk /reportit or phone up the council at 0161 342 8355.
If you see people fly-tipping:

Make a note of the day, date and time the incident occurred.
Make a note of what you saw, including the number of people and what they looked like, what they were actually doing and the make, colour and registration of any vehicles involved.
Remember where you were when you saw the fly-tipping. How far away were you? How good was your view? What were the weather and light conditions like?
If possible, find out as much as possible about what was dumped using the guidelines above.
Report it at www.tameside.gov.uk /reportit or phone up the council at 0161 342 8355.

A council officer will attend the site of the fly-tipping as soon as they can to investigate. This will involve taking photos of the waste and examining it for any evidence which may help to identify the offenders.
If the land is owned by Tameside Council we will then arrange for the waste to be removed as soon as possible. If the land is privately owned we will alert the landowner and ask them to arrange removal.
Where any land is repeatedly subject to fly-tipping the council will try to identify and put in place appropriate preventative measures.

Every resident in Tameside has a legal duty to ensure that their waste is disposed of in the correct manner.
The council operate a kerbside collection service for households. You can find more information, including collection dates here: www.tameside.gov.uk/recycling.
There are two household waste recycling centres in Tameside, Ash Road, Droylsden and Bayley Street, Stalybridge, where excess waste can be disposed of.
We also operate a bulky waste collection service for a small charge. For further information visit www.tameside.gov.uk/bulkyrefuse.
Commercial and trade waste collections are also available for businesses in Tameside. More information can be found at www.tameside.gov.uk/tradewaste.

A council officer will visit the site to examine the waste for any evidence, and work with you to try and identify the offender. Unfortunately, as the land owners it is your responsibility to remove the fly-tipped waste. Once a council officer has examined the waste they will confirm to you that you can arrange for removal.
It is advisable to keep receipts for the removal of the waste in case we can bring a successful prosecution and can try and recover your costs.
It is important to look at whether there are any steps which you should take to secure your land to prevent any further instances of fly-tipping. The council can help to advise you on this.

Fly-tipping is a serious offence, and we will always take enforcement action against culprits if they can be identified and sufficient evidence found.
The exact nature of the enforcement action we take will depend on the severity of the offence and how willing the offender is to change their behaviour. This can range from an informal chat about correct waste disposal to prosecution.
Fines for fly-tipping can be can as much as £50,000 or six months imprisonment (or both) upon conviction in court.
The council’s Waste Policy and Enforcement Strategy provide further details about enforcement actions we can take. It can be found on our website at www.tameside.gov.uk/Policy/Waste-Policy-and-Enforcement-Strategy.