Amber Valley Borough Council is teaming up with Keep Britain Tidy for 'Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight', a campaign warning residents about criminal waste traders who use convincing, professional-looking online ads to pose as legitimate businesses before illegally dump the rubbish they are paid to take away.
Fly-tipping costs councils across England millions of pounds a year to clear, putting pressure on resources that could support essential local services. Since October 2025, Amber Valley Borough Council has received 568 reports of fly-tipping.
The campaign calls on people in Amber Valley to protect themselves and their communities from falling for a #RubbishDeal - low-cost, unlicensed services offered using appealing ads on social media by organised waste criminals. Rogue waste traders hide in plain sight behind professional-looking adverts, ‘five-star’ reviews and tempting prices, making it difficult to tell them apart from legitimate operators. What they don’t tell you is where your rubbish could end up.
Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight is helping residents know what to look out for and make simple checks before handing over their rubbish to avoid it being illegally dumped on streets, fields and public spaces.
Amber Valley Borough Council is calling on households to take three simple steps to avoid a #RubbishDeal:
Councillor Elaine Sherman, Cabinet Member for Regulation and Community Safety at Amber Valley Borough Council, said: "Fly-tipping can affect any of our communities. It could be an old sofa or mattress left by the roadside, or a pile of household rubbish dumped in a public space. These places are part of the communities we call home, and we all have a part to play in looking after them.
"When the council is responsible for a clean-up, the time and resources involved could otherwise go towards other services local people rely on. That’s why stopping waste from being dumped in the first place matters so much.
"We want people to feel confident that when they pay someone to take away unwanted items, their rubbish will be disposed of responsibly. Most people are simply trying to do the right thing, but rogue waste traders can take advantage of that trust, leaving waste for local residents and councils to deal with. That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to make a few simple checks before handing over their rubbish.
"Ask to see a waste carrier licence, check it on the Environment Agency register and get a receipt. It only takes a few minutes and can help protect you, your community and our local environment from fly-tipping."
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive Officer at Keep Britain Tidy, said "Local authorities see first-hand the damage fly-tipping causes, working every day to clear illegally dumped waste and protect the places their communities value. Tackling the problem places huge demands on already stretched council teams, which is why we’re so pleased to have Amber Valley Borough Council supporting Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight this year.
"People hiring someone to take away their rubbish should be able to trust that it will be disposed of responsibly. But rogue waste traders are exploiting that trust, taking people’s money and then leaving their waste dumped in streets, fields and public spaces for communities and councils to deal with.
"What makes this particularly difficult is that criminals can be surprisingly hard to spot. A convincing advert, good reviews and a cheap price can make an illegal operator look like a legitimate business, leaving people thinking they’re paying for their rubbish to be responsibly taken away when it could end up dumped in their own community.
"Our message is simple: don’t fall for a #RubbishDeal. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is."
Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight will run from 12 to 25 October 2026, with local authorities across the country joining forces with Keep Britain Tidy to highlight the scale and impact of fly-tipping and educate residents on how to protect themselves and their communities.
For more information, visit https://www.ambervalley.gov.uk/fightflytippingfortnight
To report fly–tipping incidents, visit www.ambervalley.gov.uk/flytipping or call 01773 841335.
Contact the team directly on 01773 570222 or email enquiry@ambervalley.gov.uk
