A city-wide fly-tipping campaign has been launched to remind people of how to dispose of their waste.
The warning comes after nine people were issued with fixed penalty notices this year, for illegally dumping their waste in the city.
People who are caught fly-tipping will be fined £400, or prosecuted with the possibility of an unlimited fine and the recovery of clean-up costs.
The campaign also focuses on reminding people not to engage with rogue waste removers via social media, who offer often very cheap waste services before illegally dumping it in the city.
Councillor Anita Harrison, portfolio holder for waste management, said: “Fly-tipping your waste is an incredibly selfish thing to do. Not only is it unfair on other residents, but it is extremely harmful to the environment and causes unnecessary cost to the council to clean it up.
“Residents should not be tempted to use rogue waste collectors who are unregistered with the Environment Agency. Many of these illegal businesses can be found on Gumtree or Facebook, but we urge you to check their credentials by confirming that they are in fact, registered waste carriers.
“The easiest thing to do is to take any excess waste to the tip, or contact the council directly about the options available to them, including bulky items collection or kerbside collection schemes in their local area.
“By flouting the advice you’re not only being irresponsible, but also risking a hefty fine for carrying out this criminal act and likely to incur the costs of clean-up of any fly-tipped waste.”
Check someone is a registered waste carrier before handing over your waste and paying for their services by visiting the Environment Agency’s website or calling 03708 506 506.
In order to combat the problem of fly-tipping, the local authority also issues CCTV footage of those caught dumping waste so that the public can help identify the culprits. You can access this footage on the council’s Caught on Camera webpage.
To report someone for fly-tipping, visit the Hull City Council website.