West Oxfordshire District Council

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Litter, fly tipping, dog fouling

West Oxfordshire District Council spends around £650,000 each year cleaning streets and paths, which includes emptying bins and picking up litter. Compared to other districts, West Oxfordshire has low levels of litter and standards are higher than the national average.

Below is information on:

Litter
Fly tipping
Fly posting
Dog fouling

To report any problems relating to these services, please use the links to Online Services or contact Street Scene on 01993 861020.

Litter

The Council removes litter and fly tipping from public land, including, streets, roadside verges and parks. We support groups carrying out litter picks in their own communities and have produced a litter information pack outlining ways we can help.

We will provide interested volunteer groups with:

Litter grabbers
Safety equipment such as gloves and hi visibility tabards
Refuse bags - including collection of any bagged up litter after the clean up event
Any necessary training

Advice and assistance is also available for issues such as graffiti removal, fly-tipping and other similar concerns.

To register for this project, simply complete our general enquiry form or call 01993 861394.

Litter is a problem because:

It is unsightly and reduces people's pride in and enjoyment of public areas.
Some litter is dangerous to wildlife and can suffocate or strangle birds or mammals.
The cost of cleaning, collecting, and removing often falls to the taxpayer.
It can often take many years to degrade.

What the law says

Littering offenders can be issued with an £80 fixed penalty notice.
If not paid within 14 days they can be taken to court and fined up to £2,500.
The local authority has a legal duty to clear litter from land for which it is responsible.
Schools are responsible for clearing litter and refuse from their own grounds but have no responsibility for clearing the litter outside their grounds.
If a piece of private land is littered, the owner is responsible for clearing the litter.

Report litter problems

Fly tipping

Fly-tipping is when waste is dumped illegally on a site that has no licence to accept waste. Commonly fly-tipped items include larger domestic waste such as fridges and mattresses or commercial waste such as builders rubble and tyres, but the most common fly-tip is a black bag of household rubbish simply left at the side of a main road.

It is a problem because:

It could be a hazard to the public e.g. toxic waste, asbestos, syringes, used drugs.
It might cause damage to watercourses, or to underlying soil quality.
Fly-tipped material looks unsightly and can damage inward investment into an area.
Cleaning up fly tipping costs taxpayers in money and time.
Fly-tipping undermines legitimate waste management activities.

What the law says:

Only holders of a Waste Management Licence can recover, transport, deposit or dispose of waste.
Waste can only be deposited at officially authorised sites.
Anyone fly tipping waste is committing a serious offence and could face substantial fines or even a prison sentence.
Where fly-tipping involves the use of a vehicle, the driver can be prosecuted, as can the vehicle owner.
The Environment Agency has the power to seize vehicles used for fly-tipping under the Control of Pollution Amendment Act 1989.

Report fly tipping

Fly-posting

Fly-posting is the unlawful display of advertisements (usually for events or businesses) pasted, attached or painted on to buildings, street furniture or other structures (including trees and the surface of the road or pavement) without the consent of the owner or the necessary permission.

It is a problem because:

It can be unsightly and is a defacement of the property on which it is placed.
In some locations it could be a distraction to motorists.
It may obliterate or obscure legitimate signage, such as road signs.

The law says:

The application of posters, notices and stickers should be restricted to legal advertising sites.
Anyone wanting to erect signs must obtain planning permission first. To obtain permission to put up signs, contact Planning Services on 01993 861420.
Persistent offenders can be prosecuted.

Report fly posting

Dog fouling

Dog fouling is when a person permits a dog in their charge to foul in a public place and fails to clean it away immediately after.

A public place means land to which the public has access within built up areas of the District, which includes roads, gutters, footpaths, verges, pedestrian areas, parks, school playing fields, sports grounds, and cemeteries etc.

Ideally, dogs should be trained from an early age to go at home in their own garden before or after a walk, rather than during.

If dog fouling does occur away from home it can be quickly and easily removed using any suitable plastic bag without your hands coming into contact with the faeces. Simply place your hand inside the bag, pick up the faeces, and then pull the bag down around your hand, effectively turning it inside out, and resulting in the waste now being contained within. Tie a knot in the bag and place it in a dog waste bin or take it home for disposal. If this is not possible, as a last resort double-wrap in two plastic bags and dispose of in a litter bin.

There are over 500 dog waste bins installed throughout the district.
Aluminium dog fouling warning signs and self-adhesive stickers are also available.

It is a problem because:

Dog faeces carry many germs that can cause illness and in extreme cases could result in blindness.
It is both offensive to smell and to look at, and is extremely unpleasant to step in.

Report dog fouling