Most fines for fly-tippers in the north west given out in Tameside

Hundreds were slapped with fines for fly-tipping in Tameside last year – the most in the north west.

Some 224 fixed penalty notices were dished out by the council in 2024/25, according to the latest figures published by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs).

This is the second year running Tameside council has earned the accolade for their enforcement action against fly-tipping. In 2023/24 the council issued 236 fixed penalty notices for flytipping – again more than any other authority in the region.

This comes as part of a huge crackdown on fly-tipping in the Greater Manchester borough in recent years. According to the council, the waste enforcement and street cleaning officers are out every day investigating and clearing fly-tipping.

They also hold regular days of action with their partners and the community to tackle hot spot areas and listen to residents’ concerns.

Tameside council executive member for environment services and neighbourhoods, Coun Laura Boyle, said: “These figures once again show how exceptionally hard our teams are working to tackle flytipping on behalf of the local community. They leave no stone unturned in trying to track down and take action against offenders and this proactive and robust approach is having an impact.

“However any amount of fly-tipping is too much – it blights the appearance of our neighbourhoods and costs public funds thousands of pounds a year to clear – and we will continue in our concerted efforts to work with the community to tackle it.

“My huge thanks go to our teams who are out there day in day out investigating and clearing flytipping – their dedication and determination to find those responsible and hold them to account is second to none. Thank you also to all members of the community who work with us to tackle flytipping and clear litter – most people take immense pride, care and shared responsibility for the places where they live.

“Local people and businesses can also play their part by ensuring they always dispose of their waste responsibly and to check the credentials of any third parties they ask to remove their waste for them – always check their waste carrier licence, get a receipt and find out where they are taking the waste to.”

The local authority issued 279 fixed penalty notices in total for all waste offences including flytipping, littering and household duty of care – this is the second highest figure in the north west.

New guidance has been published by DEFRA to help councils seize and crush more vehicles used for fly-tipping, or repurpose them for clean-up operations, along with advice on how to take cases to court. Councils are also being urged to name and shame fly-tippers on social media.

Mary Creagh, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “We are empowering local authorities to clamp down on waste cowboys and restore pride in our local areas.

“I share the public’s fury at seeing our streets, parks and fields used as dumping grounds.

“Fly-tippers should know – if you use your van to trash our countryside, don’t be surprised when it ends up on the scrapheap.”