Litter

Every year, Tamworth Borough Council spends almost £1million picking litter off the streets.

Throwing or leaving litter in any open place is an offence under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This includes cigarette ends and chewing gum.

We can issue fixed penalty notices of up to £100 if someone is spotted dropping litter – including from vehicles. This is reduced to £85 if it is paid within seven days.

A fixed penalty notice means you agree you have committed an offence and will pay the fine, therefore cancelling your liability to prosecution. If you don’t agree a crime has been committed, or you don’t pay, it will be up to a court to decide. The maximum penalty a court can impose for littering is £2,500.

You can read more about the work we do to keep our town clean here.

Fly-tipping?

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste on land and includes everything from bags of household rubbish to garden waste, furniture, white goods or building materials.

 It is a serious criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which can result in unlimited fines and/or imprisonment.

Bulky items of waste can be taken to a household waste recycling centre or collected using our bulky waste and scrap collection service. Items can often be donated to charity or for recycling.

Reporting fly-tipping

Where waste has been dumped illegally on land owned by Tamworth Borough Council, or adopted highways, you can report this to us online and we will arrange for it to be investigated and cleared.

If you witness suspected fly-tipping taking place, if possible, please make a note of:

• The day/date and time of the offence
• Descriptions of any individuals involved
• Descriptions of any vehicles involved, including make, model, colour and registration number
• A description of the materials that were dumped.

If we can collect sufficient evidence, we will issue a Fixed Penalty Notice or seek prosecution through the courts.

We can also investigate fly-tipping on private land, but removal will be down to the landowner.

Report littering or fly-tipping here, or by calling 01827 709709.

Enforcement policy

Full details about how we use the law to tackle littering and fly-tipping is available in our Environmental Crime Enforcement Policy.