The investment will support a range of practical measures designed to help residents do the right thing, including pop-up recycling hubs, additional street bins and an expansion of the Recycling Support Officer team to provide even more face-to-face support for residents to manage their household waste. There will also be investment into new CCTV cameras for fly tipping hot spots and more officers focused on tracing and enforcing fly-tipping.

The council knows that most residents already recycle responsibly and take pride in keeping their neighbourhoods clean, green and safe. These improvements are about making it even easier for people to dispose of waste correctly and cracking down on those who choose to dump waste illegally.

Sandwell Council is clear that fly-tipping and other waste related crimes will not be tolerated across the borough. Since October 2025 enforcement action has resulted in:

• 20 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued for offences of littering, fly-tipping and breaches of Householder’s Duty of Care, totalling £12,200
• 10 of these FPNs were for Duty of Care Breaches for using unlicensed waste removal firms
• Six cases currently pending prosecution, for failures to pay the fixed penalty notices or for severe offences committed

Fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping in Sandwell are £1,000.

Residents are also being reminded that anyone who hands waste to an unlicensed removal firm can often be traced and held responsible if that waste is fly-tipped. Offenders face fines of up to £600, even if they did not carry out the fly-tipping themselves.

Councillor Keith Allcock, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways at Sandwell Council, said: “The positive results from the recent changes to household waste collections show us that most people in Sandwell do the right thing when it comes to recycling and waste disposal, and that there is no evidence of these changes affecting fly-tipping rates.

“However, fly-tipping in Sandwell remains too high, harms our communities and costs taxpayers’ money, so we are investing in a dedicated team focused solely on fly-tip investigation and enforcement.”

Councillor Suzanne Hartwell, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Community at Sandwell Council, said: “We are backing residents who care about their neighbourhoods, and we will continue to take firm action against those who choose to ignore the rules. Our investment in additional CCTV cameras will help deter fly tipping but also bring high-profile offenders to prosecution faster, as well as improve community safety.”

Sandwell Council will continue to invest in waste and recycling services, while using enforcement, CCTV and prosecutions to target repeat offenders. Details of further improvements and initiatives will be shared in the coming weeks.

Residents are encouraged to report fly-tipping via the council’s website and to check waste carriers are licensed to help keep Sandwell clean and safe for everyone.