Illegal dumping

What do Inverclyde Council do?

Illegal dumping, or fly tipping, is a common problem in Inverclyde, including discarded old furniture, tyres, construction waste, garden waste, car batteries or bags of household waste. It can be a source of pollution, affects the aesthetic appeal of an area, and increases the risk of fire raising.

Unfortunately, it has become so widespread that the Scottish Government has stepped in to try to tackle the problem, a problem which is seriously disfiguring the Scottish landscape and the reputation of the people of Scotland.   Inverclyde Council's Environmental and Public Protection Service have powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of £500 if there is sufficient evidence to prove an individual has illegally dumped items in Inverclyde.  These fixed penalty notices are issued as an alternative to prosecution; failure to pay a fixed penalty notice will result in a report being sent to the Procurator Fiscal

How to report illegal dumping

If you have witnessed offences being committed or are experiencing regular difficulties with people illegally dumping (fly tipping) in your neighbourhood, you can contact the Customer Service Centre using the details available in the Contacts section of this page.

Complaints of illegal dumping will be directed to Inverclyde Council's street cleaning service and, if appropriate, transferred to the Environmental Enforcement team to establish if there is sufficient detail for further investigation.  Anonymous fly tipping complaints will be investigated; however, that investigation will be limited.  To allow us to fully investigate your complaint you should, if applicable, provide us with:

  • your name, address and if possible a contact telephone number
  • the address/location of complaint (please be as specific as possible)
  • name and address of person(s) dumping materials illegally
  • dates/times of incident(s)

We may try and contact you to ask for further information or to provide updates on your complaint; however, this is not always necessary as we will not provide any details of enforcement action taken against other individuals.

Alternatively you can use the online reporting form or download the Inverclyde Online app, which allows residents and visitors to request services and report a variety of issues to the Council.  The links to both of these are available on the Related Links section of this page.

The following information will hopefully help you decide if you need to make us aware of any concerns you have with fly tipping within the Inverclyde Council area.

So, who are these illegal dumpers?

Thoughtless householders who:

  • leave bags of household rubbish on the pavement days before collection day. These get burst and scattered, creating a street sweeping headache.
  • dump household and garden waste over their garden fence, on common land or verges.
  • drive to quiet back roads to dump unwanted fridges, furniture etc.
  • dump waste that can't be recycled at Neighbourhood Recycling Points

Thoughtless traders/shopkeepers who:

  • leave excess rubbish on the pavement instead of securely containing their waste within a bin.
  • dump trade waste in gap sites or verges.
  • carry out gardening or building work and dump the arisings illegally instead of paying for it to be disposed of properly.

What can you do about it?

Householders:

  • Rubbish should be kept off the pavement until refuse collection day.
  • Garden waste can be deposited in your brown wheelie bin (or your black bin if you don’t have a brown bin).
  • Unwanted household appliances, furniture and general waste can be dumped, free of charge, at one of the Council's Recycling Centres (follow link on this page) or the Council will arrange a Bulk Uplift for a moderate fee.
  • Report illegal dumping via the related link on the left side of this page.

Follow the 'Recycling and waste' link on this page for more information about the Civic Amenity Sites and Bulk Uplift Service.

Traders/shopkeepers:

Traders and shopkeepers have a Duty of Care under The Environmental Protection Act 1990.  This includes having an adequate waste disposal contract and/or a waste carrier’s licence.  Make sure that your trade waste agreement is adequate to cover the amount and type of waste which your business generates.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 means business.  Take action now to stay within the law and protect the environment.  For further information about your Duty of Care, follow the link on this page.

Fixed penalty notices

How to pay

If you have received a fixed penalty notice for fly tipping you can pay using the following methods:

  • Pay online: you can pay online by following the link on this page.
  • By post: you can send a cheque or postal order payable to "Inverclyde Council" to the Inverclyde Council Customer Service Centre (address on this page) together with the Fixed Penalty Notice receipt and reference number.  Please note that you must allow for postage times and that PROOF OF POSTAGE must be obtained.
  • By phone: telephone Inverclyde Council Customer Service Centre on 01475 717171 during office hours with your credit or debit card details and quoting the reference number shown on the front of the Fixed Penalty Notice.

These fixed penalty notices are issued as an alternative to prosecution; failure to pay a fixed penalty notice will result in a report being sent to the Procurator Fiscal.  If you are in doubt about the Notice please contact a solicitor.

Fly tipping enforcement data

Information on fly tipping enforcement for the past 5 financial years is available to download from this page.  Please note this dataset is updated on a quarterly basis and will only be accurate to the date of publication, which is marked on the report.