Sefton Council said it spent £366,000 of taxpayers money clearing up dumped rubbish last year
Rubbish dumped on Buckley Way in Bootle(Image: Handout)
Illegal and consistent fly tipping shows the social contract is broken in one part of Merseyside, according to one local resident. The comment was made after a series of heavy duty items were seemingly dumped on a Bootle housing estate, including a washing machine and an office chair.
The latest fly tipping episode was flagged in a local Facebook group, with the poster appearing to take a humorous swipe at the person responsible, writing: “Few new additions to the Sefton Estate. Ideal set up for someone after that ‘outdoor living’ experience.
“Washing machine is nearby so just need a few more things and it’s ready to move straight in!”
Behind the humour was a genuine concern about the level of fly tipping incidents in the south Sefton area, and this was picked up in the comments. One person responded to the post, copying in a local councillor known to be active on waste dumping issues.
Rubbish dumped n Bootle(Image: Handout)
They wrote: “Joe Johnson, see all you do and still the estate looks like a jumble sale gone wrong, and the green bin being used as a normal bin.
“This estate was never like this, always pride, now it’s a s**t show.”
The Liverpool ECHO has reported on several incidents of fly tipping in south Sefton, including the illegal dumping of countless heavy duty items – fridges, couches, sofas, mattresses, building materials – dumped onto people’s streets and cast into entries.
Fly-tipping or the illegal disposal of household, industrial, commercial or other waste is a serious criminal offence and costs local authorities tens of millions of pounds. Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show there were 3,903 fly-tipping incidents in Sefton in 2023.
Rubbish dumped on Buckley Way in Bootle(Image: Handout)
Sefton Council said it is planning to step up its fight against fly-tipping, dog fouling and other environmental offences, by increasing the maximum for fixed penalty notice (FPN) fines.
The local authority is proposing to raise the maximum penalty for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000 and doubling the maximum penalty for littering from £75 to £150. Maximum penalties for household waste duty of care breaches would rise from £200 to £500.
In addition, the council have just launched a new project which will introduce a pilot scheme of CCTV cameras, aiming to deter potential fly-tippers and gather the necessary evidence to prosecute those who continue to blight its communities.
Last month, Sefton Council’s street cleansing management has been supporting and promoting the new Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) campaign (November 2025), aimed at combating fly tipping.
The local authority said its relationship with KBT is key to its own ambition of improving the cleanliness of the borough, and was recently awarded a £27,500 grant for new chewing gum removal machinery.
Rubbish dumped n Bootle(Image: Handout)
However, the ECHO still receives weekly calls about fly tipping in Bootle, and spoken to several people who said it is a blight on their communities. One local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told the ECHO they have become increasing frustrated with fly tipping in their local area, adding: “I’m sick of taking [other people’s] rubbish the tip myself.
“[I’m] sick of the confrontations I’m having with idiots who somehow become the victims when you pull them up. The social contract is broken in communities.”