Fly-tipping in Manchester and your duty of care
What Manchester does about fly-tipping and what you must do when someone takes your waste, checked against Manchester City Council and Recycle for Greater Manchester pages on 28 October 2026.
- Manchester prosecutes fly-tippers, including builders whose waste ends up dumped
- A Northenden company director was fined £320 plus £750 costs and a £128 surcharge
- The council uses fixed penalty notices, payable at a lower rate within 10 days
- The council's fixed penalty page lists no amounts
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A recent case
In a case the council reported in 2025, it prosecuted the director of a building company after building and household rubbish was left on land next to a footpath on Altrincham Road, Northenden. Evidence linked it to a renovation by his company. He pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates Court and was fined £320, ordered to pay £750 costs and a £128 victim surcharge, a total of £1,198. The waste had been found in April 2023.
Fixed penalty notices
The council's page on fixed penalty notices says some are payable at a lower rate if paid within 10 days, and that the notice itself sets the deadline. It gives no list of amounts for fly-tipping or for the householder duty of care, so we haven't quoted any. If you receive a notice, the figure is on it.
Your duty of care
If you hand your waste to someone, you are responsible for checking they are allowed to take it. The tips accept household waste only, and the council says waste from tradespeople you hired counts as trade waste, so it can't be taken to the tips.
How to check a carrier
- Ask for their waste carrier registration number and check it on the Environment Agency register
- Ask where the waste is going
- Get a written price and a waste transfer note, and keep it
- Be wary of cash-only offers from adverts with no company name
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