Flytipping
What is fly tipping?
Fly tipping is 'the illegal deposit of any waste onto land with no licence to accept waste', and includes general household waste and everything up to large quantities of industrial and commercial wastes.
At the very least, illegal dumping of waste is a blight on our environment, spoiling the landscape, and is an unnecessary cost to taxpayers or landowners. At the worst it can cause long lasting contamination, pollution and put human health at risk.
What are the penalties?
The flytipping of controlled waste is a serious criminal offence which carries a fine of up to £50,000 and / or 1 year imprisonment. It is important to realise that it is also an offence to permit flytipping.
Legislation has recently been changed so that householders now have a responsibility, under the waste 'Duty of Care', to ensure their rubbish is passed on to authorised carriers only. Those householders not taking reasonable measures to do so, could be open to investigation and prosecution if the waste is subsequently flytipped. You should ask anyone taking your rubbish away if they have a licence to carry waste and you can check if they have by telephoning the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 or checking online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/publicregister
Local Waste Collection Authorities can also prosecute or impose a fixed penalty notice on anyone caught flytipping waste.
Flytipping is often associated with dumping waste from vehicles. In this case the person controlling the use of the vehicle can also be prosecuted, which means that it is possible for a prosecution to occur when only the vehicle, not the driver, is identifiable.
The Police also have the powers to seize vehicles used for flytipping.
Who deals with it?
The District and Borough Councils are responsible for clearing flytipped waste, as long as it is not on private land.
If the flytip is blocking the highway and causing an obstruction, it is the responsibility of Hertfordshire Highways (Hertfordshire County Council) to clear it.
How can you report flytipping?
The following are the contact details of the District and Borough Councils which should be used to report incidents of flytipping:
| Local Authority | Telephone | |
| Broxbourne Borough Council | 01992 785555 | enquiry@broxbourne.gov.uk |
| Dacorum Borough Council | 01442 228666 | streetcare@dacorum.gov.uk |
| East Herts District Council | 01279 655261 | info@eastherts.gov.uk |
| Hertsmere Borough Council | 020 8207 2277 | waste.management@hertsmere.gov.uk |
| North Herts District Council | 0800 3286023 | reception@north-herts.gov.uk |
| St Albans City & District Council | 0845 125 8000 | a.cleanerdistrict@stalbans.gov.uk |
| Stevenage Borough Council | 0800 136661 | environmentalservices@stevenage.gov.uk |
| Three Rivers District Council | 01923 776611 | enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk |
| Watford Borough Council | 01923 278503 | envhealth@watford.gov.uk |
| Welwyn Hatfield District Council | 01707 357000 | council.services@welhat.gov.uk |
If you see someone flytipping, please make a note of (if possible):
- date and time you saw the tipping
- location
- vehicle number
- description of people
- what was tipped i.e. how much and what it looked like
Remember - Don't Put Yourself At Risk!
You should not attempt to tackle the perpetrators yourself.
If you discover flytipped waste after the tippers have left:
- Do not touch or disturb the waste: flytipped waste can be dangerous - it may contain syringes, broken glass, toxic chemicals or other hazardous substances.
- Do not disturb the site: there may be evidence that could help identify the culprits and lead to their prosecution.
If you have information that would help identify fly tipping offenders (i.e. vehicle registration) you can also contact the Environment Agency in confidence on freephone 0800 80 70 60, particularly for flytipping that is large in scale or dangerous in nature.
Further information about flytipping can be found at the Environment Agency website.
Our recycling / disposal advice
Report any fly-tipping to the Agency's freephone emergency hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
Use the search below to find where to recycle / dispose of Flytipping.