Report fly-tipping or waste on private land or domestic property

If you see evidence of fly-tipping on private land, or if you’re concerned about waste around domestic properties, you can ask us to investigate it.

How we can help

We can enforce removal if the waste could be a risk to health or could harbour/attract vermin.

Let us know if:

• neighbours are leaving rubbish in their garden, and it’s attracting pests
• you live near to an empty property and waste is being dumped there
• you’re worried about hazardous material (such as toxic or biological waste) being dumped on private land – you can also contact the Environment Agency for help with this

If you’re a victim of fly-tipping on land that you own, we can put you in touch with the contractors we use to help you to clean up.

How to report fly-tipping on private land/domestic property

You can do this by email:

You don’t need to tell us your name if you don’t want to. It would help our investigation if you can include evidence, such as:

• photographs of the waste (if it’s safe to do so)
• the exact location (address or description of the land)
• any other relevant details

If you know who is responsible for the fly‑tipping, you can provide their details when you report it. We’ll include this information as part of our investigation. If the case goes to court, you may be asked to provide a witness statement.

What happens after you report it

We will create a case and you’ll receive a reference number (for example, WK/123456).

An officer will be assigned to investigate. They’ll contact you (via the email address you used to contact us) if they need more information or when there is an update.

They will carry out several checks, including:

• visiting the location
• confirming the type and amount of waste
• checking land boundaries
• identifying who owns the land

Once these checks are complete, we will contact the landowner and ask them to remove the waste. If they don’t, we’ll serve an enforcement notice telling them to remove it. If they still fail to respond, we’ll remove it and bill the landowner for all expenses (known as “works in default”).

If there’s CCTV or other evidence, we may seek fixed penalty notices or prosecution.

How long the investigation takes

Investigations can take time. Officers must follow legal processes and may need to make multiple visits. Where we have to serve notice, most cases take about 3 months from start to finish.

There may be delays if other cases are given higher priority due to risk.

Get an update on your case

You can contact us by email at any time for an update. Include:

• your WK reference number
• your name
• the address or description of the location
• any new photographs or evidence