Residents warned about ‘cowboy tippers’

Fly-tipping at Hollingworth Lake which resulted in successful prosecution

With St George’s Church in Heap Bridge becoming the latest victim of fly-tipping, Rochdale Borough Council is urging residents to take greater care when paying to have their waste removed.

Anyone who wants to get rid of waste needs to use either the appropriate bin, recycling centre or ensure their waste is transferred to a licensed person, who provides a receipt for its removal. If they don’t, they run the risk of being prosecuted by the council.

Rochdale Borough Council has uncovered ‘tip runs’ being offered on social media for as little as £10 by unlicensed operators. Unfortunately, in many instances, the waste is not being disposed of correctly but being fly-tipped across the borough instead. This has led to a number of residents being fined and prosecuted for failing to use a licensed waste collector.

Councillor Jacqui Beswick, Rochdale Council Cabinet Member for Housing and Environment, said: “Fly-tipping like this costs the council and taxpayers a huge amount of money to deal with. Residents have a duty of care to ensure their waste is collected and disposed of correctly by a licenced operator. We won’t hesitate to go after people who flout these simple rules.”

Council staff will always look for evidence of an address in the waste to help identify the perpetrator and take offenders to court where possible. With a recent successful prosecution for fly-tipping on Hollingworth Lake and a further four prosecutions pending, Rochdale Borough Council takes fly-tipping very seriously.

Residents can report fly-tipping anonymously at www.rochdale.gov.uk/flytipping or by calling 0300 303 8884. Please provide as much information as possible, such as the location, the offenders address, vehicle registration and the time of the incident. All information will be treated confidentially.