South Staffordshire District Council (SSDC) is embarking on a joint campaign with Wolverhampton Council and Staffordshire Police called “it’s in your hands” to raise awareness about what residents can do to reduce fly-tipping. In 2023, clearing fly-tipped rubbish cost SSDC almost £90,000 which could have instead been spent on providing other services to our residents.
Many fly-tipping offences are committed by people or businesses who have been paid to clear waste who then go on to fly-tip it instead of paying for lawful disposal. These could be people who advertise waste clearance services on social media, scrap metal collectors accepting non-metal waste for a small cash fee or trades people removing waste when they have completed a job in someone’s home or garden. Often, their customers are horrified to find out that their rubbish has been fly-tipped after they have paid for waste clearance in good faith. They are also embarrassed to find out that they have been duped by waste criminals.
We are providing some top tips to residents using the hashtag #flytipfriday to help them avoid being caught out by waste criminals. We are also reminding residents that everyone has a legal responsibility to prevent their waste from becoming fly-tipped. It is an offence to be unable to demonstrate the reasonable steps you have taken to prevent it from happening. Failure to do so could result in a Fixed Penalty Notice of £600 or even court proceedings and a criminal conviction.
Our top tips
- Only use businesses who supply their name and address. Do some research about them, check their website, their reviews and recommendations. Don’t just go with the cheapest option – there may well be good reason that they’re cheap!
- Check they have a waste carriage licence online here: Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers (data.gov.uk).
- Ask them where they take the rubbish to and how much disposal costs.
- Ask them for a written receipt, ideally itemised with the disposal costs listed separately to the overall cost.
- Make a note or take a photograph of the vehicle that takes your rubbish away.
- Do not be embarrassed to ask for documentation because legitimate waste companies will be happy to supply it.
You can follow our campaign on our Facebook, Instagram, X, Linked In accounts as well as regular updates in our weekly Resident Newsletter.