Fly tipping costs money and harms the environment

Clearing up fly tipping costs Bolsover District Council and taxpayers thousands of pounds every year.

From 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 the Council dealt with over 1,200 incidents - that’s three a day - of fly tipped waste, which includes tyres, asbestos and household waste dumped at the side of roads, in lay-bys and along country lanes.

A typical fly-tip clearance can cost anything up to £200, but extreme cases can cost upward of £1,000.

The Council’s dedicated environmental enforcement team investigate all reports of fly tipping where evidence is available and will take enforcement action where possible.

Bolsover District Council’s Chief Executive Karen Hanson said, “Fly tipping is costly, not only in terms of money and resources, but to the local environment as well. We are trying to promote our area as a clean and green tourist destination and the last thing anyone wants to see when they walk down the street or along a country lane is fly tipping strewn all over the place.

“We spend thousands of pounds every year on our battle against fly tippers, money that could be spent on other services for the benefit of our communities.”

Over the past few years, the Council has been active in the local community and introduced a number of initiatives to combat fly tipping including:

• new, permanent signage installed at fly tipping hotspots which are also monitored with cameras,
• patrolling areas where fly tipping is a problem,
• inspecting businesses to ensure they have appropriate arrangements in place for the disposal of their waste,
• education through press, leaflets, signs, radio adverts and attendance at local events has raised public awareness,
• Co-ordinated close partnership work to ensure efforts are effective.

Karen added, “There is no excuse for fly-tipping, it is anti-social, attracts vermin and other litter and costs a fortune to clean up, so why do it? That’s why we are doing everything in our power to catch the culprits and take the most severe action possible, whilst also continuing our good work in promoting our activities and raising awareness of the dangers associated with this problem.”

Bolsover District Council offers numerous ways of waste disposal for its residents including fortnightly waste collections, a bulky waste collection service and there are household recycling sites available.

The Council has a zero-tolerance approach to fly tipping and will use all powers at its disposal to crack down on anyone witnessed or caught fly tipping. The Council has set the fixed penalty for fly tipping at £400 for smaller scale waste offences, but they will seek to prosecute anyone who commits more serious waste offences and will also seek to seize any vehicles suspected of fly tipping.

Anyone who pays for waste to be removed is requested to check that the collector has a valid waste carriers licence and receives a waste transfer note. Otherwise, if your waste is found fly tipped and traced back to you, you could be guilty of a waste offence.

You can report fly tipping via their website (https://selfservice.bolsover.gov.uk/service/Fly_Tipping) or on 01246 242424.