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Fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste. It is your responsibility to know what has happened to your waste.

If your waste is dumped illegally, you could be fined up to £50,000 and/or receive a prison sentence. At the Crown Court the fine is an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison.

How to dispose of your waste

If you have any work done on your property, or if you pay someone to take waste away for you, make sure they are registered with the Environment Agency.  You can search registered companies on the Environment Agency website.

It applies to everyone involved in handling the waste from the person who produces it to the person who finally disposes of or recovers it. You can easily check if someone has a waste carrier's licence online.

You can also use our bulky waste collection service, for which there is a small charge, or for larger quantities we can provide you with an individual quote.

Our response to fly-tipping

We respond to all fly-tipping reports and aim to clear the rubbish within 72 hours, provided it is on a street or in another public place.

If the rubbish is dumped on private land, such as farmers' fields and other areas not in public ownership, we will not clear it without charging the occupier for doing so. We’ll investigate such incidents and prosecute offenders when we have the evidence. We also apply for costs in court on behalf of the landowner/occupier.

Find out more about our Not in Newark and Sherwood campaign, which is targeting fly-tipping in the district.

Reporting fly-tipping

If you see any fly-tipping, please report it to us. If you find evidence, please leave it where it is and let us know as soon as possible.

If you witness the act of fly-tipping please make a note of any details such as vehicle registration number and be prepared to make a written statement. Without this we may not be able to take any further action.

Report fly-tipping using our online form or using our resident portal 'MyNS' which will allow you to track the status of the report. 

Reporting an abandoned car

Not all abandoned vehicle reports are within our power to action as well need to investigate if it meets one of the following criteria:

  • it has no keeper on DVLA’s database and is untaxed
  • it’s stationary for a significant amount of time
  • it’s significantly damaged, run down or unroadworthy – for example it has flat tyres, missing wheels or broken windows
  • it’s burned out
  • a number plate is missing

If the vehicle meets our criteria for being classified as abandoned, we will leave a notice on the car for the owner to remove the vehicle in 15 days if it’s on private land and 7 days for highways.

If a vehicle is obstructing the road it should be reported to the Police. If it is obstructing the pavement it should be reported to Nottinghamshire County Council’s Highways Team.

If a vehicle has been left after a road collision, there is a high chance that this is waiting to be picked up by insurance companies so is out of our hands.

If we determine a vehicle is abandoned, we can:
  • issue a fixed penalty notice 
  • prosecute the owner
  • dispose of the vehicle

We can also issue a fixed penalty ticket for £200 instead of taking court action for this offence.

Did you know that once your vehicle comes to the end of its life, you can take the vehicle to an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) to have it scrapped? You will receive a ‘certificate of destruction’ within 7 days and the ATF may pay you the scrap value of your vehicle.

Please report abandoned vehicles to us, providing as much information as possible. This helps us to take positive action and reduce the number of abandoned vehicles on our roads.

Report an abandoned vehicle using our online form or using our resident portal 'MyNS' which will allow you to track the status of the report. 

Environmental Enforcement

Prosecutions

Committing an environmental offence can result in being prosecuted at a magistrate’s court.

Prosecution is one of a number of enforcement actions we can take on people that deposit waste unlawfully, the other is the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN). In the event of an FPN being issued but not paid the case will then be referred for prosecution.

Below is an updated list of prosecutions for fly tipping and other related environmental offences in the district.

Please note that sentences imposed are decided solely by the relevant court.

May 2023

Robert Cantar (Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990)

£840 fine 

April 2023

Stephen Lynch (Control of pollution amendment act 1989)

£1,1240 fine

March 2023

John Buck (Section 108 of the Environmental Act 1995)

£1,287 fine

 

Environmental Enforcement figures 

Environmental Enforcement figures 2022-2023 [16kb]

January 2024

Environmental Protection Officers (EPO's)

Total: 22

Fly tips - 17

Littering - 2

Waste Transfer Notice - 2

Abandoned vehicle - 1