Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of rubbish.

A fly tip is any refuse bag, bulky or loose material that has been dumped in a public space or left on land without the owner's permission. Fly tipped items may include furniture and household rubbish (fridges, freezers, cookers) building rubble, carpeting, shopping trolleys, hazardous waste and any other items of refuse.

Fly tips come from a number of sources and include domestic rubbish bags and household goods, trade businesses tipping waste, large professional fly tippers carrying up to 40 tonnes or more of hard core waste.

Fly tipping is illegal under The Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the maximum fine is £50,000 and/or up to five years in prison. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 has introduced a fixed penalty fine of £300 for people transporting waste without a license and people who fail to produce a waste carrier note.

It is always the responsibility of the landowner to clear up fly-tipping on their own land. On publicly owned land both District Councils and the Environment Agency have powers to tackle fly-tipping.

What can you do to help?

• Make sure you are aware of the refuse and recycling collection day in your area, you can check your collection day here.

• Please put your rubbish bags out on the morning of collection by 7am.

• If you are having building work carried out or your garden is being cleared or you are disposing of some unwanted items, please ensure the workmen intend to dispose of the waste responsibly, you should:

• Consider whether the contractor falls into one of the following categories: All building and allied trades; landscape gardeners, tree fellers and surgeons; house clearers; retail establishments; scrap metal dealers. These are occupations that will normally need a waste carrier registration.
• Ask the contractor whether they are a registered waste carrier and ask for their waste carrier number. If they are not registered, do not use the service, and advise them that they need to speak with the Environment Agency on 08708 506506.
• If they claim to be registered, telephone the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 and request an instant Waste Carrier Validation Check or check online at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/publicregister.
• You could be prosecuted if they fly tip your waste

• If you see a fly tip happening, please take the details of any vehicle involved, the time, date and basic description of the offenders.

• Make sure you record a description of the type of waste (black bags, an old sofa, fridge etc).

• Under no circumstances should you approach or talk to the offender(s) and do not touch or move fly-tipped materials, etc. You should report the details to us using our Waste Crusader online report form.

What we will do to help

• If anyone is caught fly-tipping, they will be issued with a fixed penalty notice and/or prosecuted.

• Fixed penalties will also be issued to people caught littering.

• Statutory notices will be served on owners or occupiers to clean up privately-owned land and property where fly-tipping has occurred.

• The Council's contractors will clear fly-tipped waste within 48 hours of it being reported. Asbestos and other hazardous waste has to be collected by a specialist contractor and may take a little longer.

• We offer a chargeable collection service for bulky goods such as fridges and furniture through our contractors Veolia, please contact Veolia direct on 01255 431620 for the current charge or to arrange collection. At the present time we are offering a free collection and disposal service for unwanted vehicles which is open to residents of the Tendring district, you can fill out an online form to arrange collection. For more information on this free service see our Abandoned Vehicle pages.

• Essex County Council provide 5 Household Recycling Centres across the Tendring district where you can dispose of bulky items and household waste free of charge.

To report an incidence of fly-tipping

Complete the Waste Crusader online report form; or
e-mail wcrusader@tendringdc.gov.uk; or telephone the Waste Crusader Anti Dumping Helpline on 01255 686768 (voicemail is avaible out of office hours)