Oldham Council has cleared over 1,116 tonnes of fly-tipped waste since the start of 2025, highlighting our ongoing commitment to keeping the borough clean.
To put it into perspective, 1,116 tonnes of waste is about the same weight as 223 double-decker buses.
While the number of fly-tipping incidents reported by residents has gone up from 4,654 in 2023 to 5,598 in 2024. The actual weight of waste collected isn’t rising at the same pace. In fact, the overall tonnage remains lower than in 2020, 2021 and 2022, which suggests that although more fly-tipping is being reported, each incident is smaller on average.
The higher figures in 2022 were linked to a major clean-up operation across the borough. Since then, the council has continued to respond quickly to reports, with the Don’t Trash Oldham team working daily to tackle problem areas.
Councillor Chris Goodwin, Cabinet Member for Don’t Trash Oldham, said: “We’re so proud of the work our teams are doing every day to keep Oldham cleaner. Clearing over 1,100 tonnes of fly-tipped waste already in 2025 shows just how seriously we take this issue.
We know fly-tipping is still a problem, but our message remains clear: it’s not welcome here. We’ll continue taking action, holding those responsible to account and working with our communities to make Oldham a place we can all be proud of.”
As part of its wider clean-up efforts, the council is also carrying out weed spraying across the whole of Oldham. After a previous contractor let us down, Oldham Council stepped up by bringing the service in-house: training our own staff and investing in specialist equipment to take on the job ourselves.
The weed spray being used is safe for plants and wildlife, so there’s no risk to the environment. With the team working area by area across the borough, we ask residents to be patient while the work is completed.
Residents are also reminded they can report fly-tipping quickly and easily through the council’s website or by calling the contact centre. We continue to offer bulky waste collections through Bulky Bob’s, helping to prevent unwanted items from being dumped illegally.