Rochdale named as one of the worst spots for fly-tipping in the North West

Rochdale has been named one of the worst areas for fly-tipping last year in the entire North West region.

Rochdale and Manchester ranked 7th and 10th worst places for people dumping their rubbish in places they should not. A study from LoveJunk using government data from 2022 showed that Rochdale and Manchester had 28 and 25 fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 people in 2022, respectively. 

Pendle in Lancashire tops the table of fly-tipping hotspots in the North West with 52 fly tips per 1,000 people, closely followed by Liverpool with 39 fly tips per 1000.

Manchester was proactive in clamping down on the dumping of illegal waste, issuing 1,250 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) last year, and prosecuting 338 people. Rochdale Council has the biggest problem in Greater Manchester with 28 fly tips per 1,000 people, but only issued 27 FPNs.

Tameside, Stockport and Salford were the least proactive in punishing fly-tippers in Greater Manchester, only nine FPNs were issued last year and five fly-tippers prosecuted between them. In total these three councils had almost 800,000 reported fly-tipping incidents on public land, which was more than a quarter of all fly-tipping in the Greater Manchester area.

Local authorities must report to Defra how many fly-tipping incidents they have suffered and what actions they have taken every year. This includes sending warning letters, issuing fixed penalty notices up to £1,000, launching investigations and pursuing criminal prosecutions.

Here is a breakdown government data of each GM borough in 2022 when it comes to fly-tipping:

• Bolton: 1,184 incidents, 84 fines issued, 48 prosecutions, £243,724 spent
• Bury: 3,323 incidents, 51 fines issued, 0 prosecutions, £408,966 spent
• Manchester: 13,999 incidents, 1,250 fines issued, 338 prosecutions, £2,591,500 spent
• Oldham: 5,903 incidents, 448 fines issued, 30 prosecutions, £730,799 spent
• Rochdale: 6,241 incidents, 27 fines issued, 18 prosecutions, £821,473 spent
• Salford: 6,020 incidents, 7 fines issued, 4 prosecutions, £713,479 spent
• Stockport: 3,157 incidents, 2 fines issued, 0 prosecutions, £323,635 spent
• Tameside: 4,102 incidents, 0 fines issued, 1 prosecution, £344,001 spent
• Trafford: 2,521 incidents, 29 fines issued, 1 prosecution, £234,111 spent
• Wigan: 2,130 incidents, 210 fines issued, 2 prosecutions, £240,752 spent

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “We work extremely hard in educating our residents on the importance of checking for waste carriers’ licences and promoting the council’s free bulky waste collections, which has made a huge impact on the amount of potential waste that could have ended up on our streets.

“We continue to charge offenders by serving formal cautions and on-the-spot FPNs when evidence is found, as we will not tolerate fly-tipping in our borough.”

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “The city prides itself on its robust stance towards people who fly-tip. It is a disgraceful crime which does nothing but damage the communities it impacts. 

“In 2021/22 Manchester was ranked the third best authority in the country for enforcement against fly-tipping, an approach which has remained consistent during the following year. Between April to July this year alone, 610 FPNs were issued to offenders for fly-tipping.”

A Rochdale Council spokesperson said: “There has been a small increase in fly-tipping figures reported, but the actual amount of tonnages collected has reduced by more than 32 tonnes from the previous year. “This reduction has had a positive impact and meant we have spent less on disposal costs.

“The figures reported are also due to our rapid response and proactive work in removing fly-tipping. We can often respond to a small fly-tip, and then additional waste is added to the same location, resulting in the same fly-tip being reported twice.

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter