Don’t be an I.D.I.O.T
We are sending a stark warning to people who illegally dump waste: ‘stop insulting your neighbours and disrespecting your communities because we’re coming after you.’
On Tuesday 20 June 2023 we pledged to clear a thousand grot spots across the city in 100 days as part of a zero-tolerance response to the crime.
This comes as a further £260,000 investment has been announced, in addition to funding from the UK Government via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, into expanding our environmental cleaning response team to help deliver on the pledge.
The investment will include the recruitment of four new members of cleansing staff, five new deployable CCTV cameras, a road/pavement sweeper vehicle and driver, an additional two 3.5-tonne tippers and three new enforcement officers. The environmental cleaning response team, which will complement the work of the existing staff, will also operate during the evenings and weekends. They will be responsible for identifying the source of the waste, ensuring waste is lawfully disposed of, investigating and enforcing our zero-tolerance approach to waste offences and scouring CCTV. They will also liaise with local residents and businesses to identify where the waste has come from.
Environmental crime fixed penalty notices
In line with the Government announcement in July 2023, we are one of the first councils to increase its charges for environmental crime fixed penalty notices.
From Monday January 8, fines will increase to a maximum of £1000.These changes will include:
| Offence | New fine | Previous fine |
| Fly tipping from a domestic property | £500 | £400 |
| Fly tipping from a motor vehicle | £1,000 | £400 |
| Fly tipping from a commercial business | £1,000 | £400 |
| Litter or graffiti from a domestic person | £200 | £80 |
| Litter or graffiti from a commercial business | £500 | £80 |
| Household duty of care | £600 | £400 |
Reporting Illegal Dumping
Help us to keep our city a place we can be proud of by correctly disposing of waste and telling us about dumped rubbish. This can be next to a public bin, a street corner, any public street, alleyway, grass verge or public land.
Illegal dumping commonly includes:
- Black bin bags
- Items of furniture
- Mattresses
- DIY material.
What can I do with my rubbish
Households/residents have a legal duty to ensure anyone taking waste from their house is authorised by the Environment Agency. You should ask to see their waste carrier permit and check the EA’s register.
Failure to use an authorised service is a criminal offence. You can book collections via the bulky waste collection service.
Side waste
If additional waste has been generated which is unable to fit in the appropriate bin, bagged side waste can be presented no earlier than 7pm the day before your scheduled collection.
All general waste must be bagged in a standard black bin bag and tied and presented on the scheduled general waste collection day. Any side waste presented days in advance will be treated as illegal dumping and a £400 fixed penalty notice will be issued to the rubbish owner.
Anything left for collection other than bagged side waste, such as mattresses, head-boards, fridges, car tyres, high-chairs, unwanted children’s toys, tree branches, wardrobes, bicycles, ironing boards, TVs (anything that isn’t tied off in normal-sized refuse sack) constitutes illegal dumping.