Flytipping

What is flytipping?

Most of our rubbish is disposed of in a responsible way. However, there are increasingly cases where people choose to tip their rubbish in the countryside or on other people's land. Why is flytipping a problem?

Flytipping affects us all

• As council tax payers, cleaning up fly tipping costs us all money
• It is dangerous and potentially harmful to you and your family's health
• It spoils our enjoyment of the environment
• It can cause serious pollution to the environment
• It attracts arson and further flytipping
• It can be dangerous for wildlife

Flytipping and Accumulations on Private Land

• If the person responsible for the fly tipping or the owner of the refuse cannot be identified the rubbish becomes the responsibility of the owner(s) of the land.
• Private land includes:
  • unadopted alleyways which are the joint responsibility of the owners of all the properties with direct access onto the alleyway.
  • watercourse (for further information about the riparian ownership please download the PDF formatted Riparian Ownership document at the end of this page for more information).
• If there is an environmental health nuisance, Environmental Health may be in a position to serve statutory notices on the owner(s) of the land or the refuse, if it can be identified.

Flytipping is illegal

Offenders can be:

• Fined up to £20,000 and / or six months imprisonment. 
• Fines are unlimited if the case goes to the county court
• and up to two years imprisonment, and up to five years if hazardous waste is dumped.

Reporting flytipping

If you see someone flytipping or would like to report an area where flytipping has taken place, take note of the following:

• Date and time of incident that occurred
• Model, make, registration number and colour of vehicle(s) used by the offender(s)
• Description of the offender(s)
• Description of fly-tipping materials, etc and quantity if possible.
• Do not approach or talk to the offender(s) and do not touch or move fly-tipped materials, etc.
• The Council may wish to prosecute the person fly-tipping and will be keen to use your evidence in court. You are likely to be asked if you would be willing to stand and give evidence in court.

Householders Responsibilities

Householders must take responsibility for waste - or risk fines!

All householders in England are responsible, under the new ‘Duty of Care’ waste regulations, for ensuring that their rubbish is taken away by authorised carriers only. Householders not taking reasonable measures to do this could face fines of up to £5,000.

These changes (part of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act) aim to reduce the thousands of tonnes of household waste being fly-tipped each year. In 2004/05, there were 500,000 fly-tips of household rubbish; much of which was dumped by operators posing as legitimate waste carriers. Registered waste carriers, other than us, can now be found online thanks to a new ‘waste carrier register’, set up by the Environment Agency.

Fly-tippers rely on people not asking questions, and not checking for registration – but now all householders have a responsibility to ask those questions, and check for that registration.

Rogue waste carriers can make huge sums of money by charging to take household rubbish away illegally, before dumping it over the nearest hedge. Now, if that rubbish is traced back to the household it came from, the householder could now be fined.

All household waste can still be disposed of at local Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRS) free of charge. For residents unable to take bulky waste to the HWRS themselves, we offer a collection service at a very reasonable rate.

However, for those using waste carriers other than us to remove household, garden or construction waste, the Environment Agency suggests the following check:

1. 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.
2. Ask the contractor whether they are a registered waste carrier and ask for their waste carrier number. If they are not registered, refuse the service, and advise them that they need to speak with the Environment Agency on 08708 506506.
3. 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.

Important notice for Commercial Waste Producers

Commercial waste producers have a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Section 34) to store, transport and safely dispose of the waste that they generate. Look at the "Waste Management and Regulation" under the "Related Topic" on the right hand side of this page for further information. 

Contact

By e-mail: customer.services@lewes.gov.uk

By telephone: 01273 484999

Or use the online "Fault Reporting" system at the bottom of this page