By Elizabeth Haigh For Mailonline
Published: 12:42 BST, 1 July 2022 | Updated: 15:21 BST, 1 July 2022
Students have sparked outrage after fly-tipping piles of rubbish across UK cities as they head home for the summer after university.
Photos show mounds of waste and overflowing bins in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, near to areas that have high levels of student housing.
Many university students have left or are in the process of leaving their properties and heading home for the summer holidays.
Most students do not stay in the same house for more than one year at a time, meaning they must move out all of their items in one go before going home for the summer - and can leave piles of rubbish or unwanted possessions behind them.
Earlier this week the Liverpool Echo featured a shocking image of mess left by fly-tippers in Woodcroft Road in the Picton area, where students have been vacating their properties.
This rubbish heap was left behind in the Kensington Fields area of Liverpool as students moved out of their properties for the summer
As well as rubbish bags, items of furniture and bedding have been building up in the Everton area of the city as students ditch items they don't want to take home with them
At a second site in Kensington Fields, which has a large student population, bins were quickly filled up and items dumped at the side of them instead
Liverpool city councillor Nick Small reported on some grim scenes in the Kensington Fields area of his ward, on the outskirts of the city centre. Kensington is an area known for having a high density of student housing.
Sharing a number of images of fly tipping, dumping and overflowing bins in the area, Cllr Small said: 'This is completely unacceptable and selfish behaviour from a minority of students.
'We've been working hard with our three universities, student unions and Liverpool Student Homes on educating students about what they need to do when they move out.
Fly-tipping has increased in recent years as prosecutions drop and landfill taxes increase.
There has been a dramatic 95 per cent fall in waste crime prosecutions since 2007 and a tendency not to issue formal sanctions even when the Environment Agency does take action, according to the National Audit Office.
Meanwhile, the increase in landfill tax rates has encouraged more organised crime groups to make money from illegally disposing of waste - with some travelling from England to Scotland to dump often hazardous rubbish in green areas.
Fly-tipping prosecutions have dropped down from 800 annually back in 2007 to 60 or fewer since 2017.
More than 1.13million fly-tipping incidents in 2020-21, latest figures show, costing local councils £11.6m.
Fewer than 58,000 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were awarded last year, despite there being more than one million incidents. Enforcement action was only taken on 96,628 occasions, with just 57,621 FPNs and 1,313 fines issued.
The number of incidents increased in all areas of England in 2021-2022, except for Yorkshire and the Humber, where it fell slightly compared to the 2019-2020 level.
'The universities are funding community skips so there's no need for this. We've had to ask for the council to bring in extra waste collections.'
He tweeted his thanks to the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University who he says have helped fund community skips to be used by students moving out of their accommodation.
Meanwhile Liverpool Streetscene, a subsidiary of Liverpool council responsible for waste collection and recycling, said the scenes of dumped rubbish were 'upsetting to see.'
It added on social media yesterday (June 30): 'Streetscene Officers & cleansing teams all attended Kensington Fields today. This area is now clear.'
Another major mess was reported in the Everton area in Liverpool. The images were sent in by a group of local residents called the Everton Community Action Group.
A spokesperson for the group said: 'We currently have ongoing issues with waste and vermin as a result of rubbish being left. The waste pictured has been left for three weeks.'
Meanwhile in Manchester similar scenes of abandoned rubbish are appearing around the city.
Dozens of rubbish bags, items of furniture and carpets have all been pictured in the Withington area of the city, where many students live.
Manchester University told its students on its website: 'Please make sure that you dispose of all your unwanted things responsibly; don't just leave things in street, hoping they'll be collected.
'This is fly tipping and is illegal. There are so many easy ways to get rid of your things – including free council collections and charity collections as well as regular refuse collections.'
Withington residents told Manchester Evening News the area had turned into a dumping ground.
Charity shops have reportedly stopped taking donations due to the surge in demand as students try to get rid of items responsibly.
Julie Colville, who has lived in Withington for 28 years, told the site: 'It's heartbreaking. We have to live with this all summer.
'My garden is right next to the alley, and when the bins are overflowing I get flies and I can't enjoy my garden.
'They think they're doing okay because they're throwing it in a bin, not realising that the bin then can't be used for what it's supposed to be used for.'
Withington residents of south Manchester were left fuming by rows of overflowing bins left behind as students moved away for the summer
Most students only live in the same house for one year, meaning they have to clear out all of their belongings and waste before they leave
This full size canvas wardrobe was abandoned on a pavement in Manchester, without even being folded down or deconstructed
City councillor Becky Chambers said: 'As councillors we know that the end of year clear out does cause a number of issues for local residents and we have been working with the council and universities to mitigate the impact of this.
'Students are being encouraged to recycle waste rather than binning it and we have been in the area reporting any instances of fly tipping we have found.'
The city of Leeds is also experiencing piles of unwanted rubbish dumped by students.
Leeds Inner North West Residents, a community group on Facebook, posted photos of overflowing bins with the caption: 'And so it begins. This is the mess residents will have to put up with for the next few weeks. It's a health hazard, and a danger as dangerous objects are being left outside.'
The group said in a statement: 'Many residents are not happy that items suitable for reuse and recycling are being left kerbside as it encourages further flytipping offences and bin dippers of questionable character to operate in our streets.
'Some people have even been daft enough to put knives on display on public footpaths and other knives disposed as waste are finding their way on the footpaths after people trawl through the trash to find treasures.
'These knives pose a serious threat of harm and danger in our neighbourhoods. We urge people to use common sense when disposing of knives in this manner.
'If they're black bagged and in bins as a last resort otherwise unis and council need to provide knife disposal containers to keep knives off our streets.
'The level of waste produced is still a very real concern and things need to be done to reduce this kind of waste output.
'The universities and council need to have some serious discussions on the points raised here. We expect to hear an official response on these matters.'
A local waste clearance team has been hard at work to clear up some of the mess in Leeds produced so far this year.
The Waste Team in Leeds told MailOnline: 'The Waste Team are the leading providers in west Yorkshire for resolving this issue.'
Waste Team Leeds has been hard at work trying to clear some of this year's rubbish dumped outside by outgoing students in the city
Dozens of alcohol cans and bottles, plastic bags, carpet and overflowing bins have culminated to create a huge flytipping scene on this street in Leeds
Vodka bottles, plastics and cardboard sit alongside more homely items such as throw cushions after students left addresses in Leeds - as well as what looks to be sharp shards of plastic
Meanwhile councillors in Headingley, Hyde Park and Woodhouse in Leeds have taken a more forward approach after suffering with serious waste issues in previous years as student move out for the summer.
In a Facebook post councillors Al Garthwaite, Jonathan Pryor and Neil Walshaw informed local residents that six enforcement officers are on patrol in the area until July 6, when most students are expected to have left.
The officers have been 'advising residents on what to do with waste, handing out warnings for presenting waste in the street and issuing fines where necessary.'
The councillors continued: 'In regards to waste clearance we have put in as much extra resource in Headingley, Hyde park and Woodhouse as possible - obviously yesterday and today are the days when most people move so we should be reaching a peak with everything improving over the next few days.
'Our Cleaner Neighbourhoods Team operatives are working up until 7pm every day in this period, doing extra hours to alleviate as much pressure as possible.
'As local Councillors we too are supplementing this with ward walks and reporting in flytipping and waste - we are also reporting in all that is sent to us over email or text.
'If you are moving, please do not leave items out on your wall or in the street in the hope that people will want to take your things. 95% of these sort of items will not get taken and then the rest becomes illegal flytipping.
'Please dispose of your waste properly, either through acknowledged donation channels or thrown away properly.
'There is a huge amount to get through, so please bear with us over the next few days, and do contact us if you think there's a street or area being missed. And thank you to all those residents for their patience in this annual difficult period!'
Liverpool's universities have also been trying to cut the amount of rubbish left behind after students leave the city. The University of Liverpool have launched a Leave Liverpool Tidy initiative with the British Heart Foundation alongside its community skips.
It allows students to leave all reusable items at drop-off points around the city, for them to be passed on to others in need.
This also applies to food items, which will then be passed on to local food banks.
The scheme accepts all items with limited exceptions: duvets and pillows, broken ad dirty items, knives, hangers and underwear.
A report in April warned that organised waste crime groups in Britain are costing local councils millions of pounds per year by fly-tipping rubbish for cash, with increasingly lax punishments allowing 'cowboys' to 'take us all for a ride'. (Pictured: Graph shows increasing number of fly-tipping incidents in England)
Police questions man convicted of sexually assaulting men
Shocking CCTV shows a man getting knocked out in a family brawl
Craig Mulligan dances with Logan Mwangi months before killing him
Craig Mulligan answers police questions after killing Logan Mwangi
Cheeky orangutan grabs woman's boobs and kisses her on the cheek
Arden begs Brits to travel to NZ as Covid restrictions dropped
Logan Mwangi's mum calls 999 after she murdered him
Moment police officer fly kicks teen girl to the ground in Norwich
Man claims bank wouldn't let him withdraw without explaining reason
Australian actress Jodi Anasta provides Smart Cleanse testimonial
MMA fighter gets caught in a wild street brawl between two men
CCTV shows tourist's last moments before falling off a hotel
In April of this year MailOnline reported on a new report released to try and tackle fly-tipping, which included information on so-called fly-tipping gangs, who are paid to take people's rubbish away - but then dump it illegally.
The report said organised waste crime groups in Britain are costing local councils millions of pounds per year by fly-tipping rubbish for cash, with increasingly lax punishments allowing 'cowboys' to 'take us all for a ride'.
There has been a dramatic 95 per cent fall in waste crime prosecutions since 2007 and a tendency not to issue formal sanctions even when the Environment Agency does take action, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.
Meanwhile, the increase in landfill tax rates has encouraged more organised crime groups to make money from illegally disposing of waste - with some travelling from England to Scotland to dump often hazardous rubbish in green areas.
Fly-tipping has soared over the last decade reaching more than 1.13million incidents and costing councils £11.6million in 2020-21.
Are these the same students who pretend to Eco War...
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.
You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group