Articles & Guides
How to report litter so someone can act on it, how the reporting apps compare, and what CleanSpot looks like from inside a council.
Reporting & disposal
- How to report litter or illegal dumpingA practical guide to reporting litter, fly-tipping and dumped rubbish: what to photograph, who receives the report, and what happens next.
- Reporting illegal dumping in PortugalWhere to report illegal dumping of waste and construction debris in Portugal, what a report needs to contain, and what the law says about fines.
- Bulky waste collection in Portugal ("monos")How to book free bulky waste collection from your Portuguese council, what counts as "monos", and what to do when someone leaves furniture in the street.
- Bulky waste collection in Spain ("enseres")How to book free bulky waste collection from a Spanish council, what counts as "enseres", the collection time window, and what to do when the item is not yours.
- Abandoned vehicles in Spain: how to report oneWhen a car counts as legally abandoned in Spain, what article 106 of the Traffic Law requires, how to report it to the council, and what happens next.
- What goes in each recycling container in SpainYellow, blue, green, brown and grey: what belongs in each Spanish recycling container, the most common mistakes, and what has to go to a punto limpio.
- Dog fouling in Spain: the rules and the finesPicking up after your dog is required by municipal ordinance across Spain. What the rules say, where the bag goes, and why more councils are using canine DNA registers.
- How to report illegal dumping in SpainWho to report illegal dumping to in Spain: the council, the region, or SEPRONA. What the report must contain and what Ley 7/2022 sets out as penalties.
- Where to dispose of electrical and electronic waste in SpainGetting rid of an appliance or electronic device is free in Spain. What RD 110/2015 obliges shops to do, and where to take it if you are not buying anything.
- Potholes in Spain: reporting one and claiming for damageHow to report a pothole to a Spanish council and, if it wrecked a wheel, how to file a responsabilidad patrimonial claim: deadline, evidence and procedure.
- Waste on private land in Spain: what the council can doA plot full of rubbish or scrub is not untouchable. What the owner is obliged to do, how to request an orden de ejecución, and why subsidiary execution is slow.
- The council is not replying: what you can do in SpainWhat to do when a municipal request or complaint goes unanswered: the duty to resolve, what administrative silence actually means, and who to escalate to.
- Fly-tipping in France: 2026 fines and how to report itFrench fly-tipping fines changed on 5 June 2026. Up-to-date amounts by contravention class, who to report to, and what powers the mayor has.
- Bulky waste collection in France ("encombrants")How to get bulky waste collected free by your French commune, what is refused at collection, and what to do when furniture is abandoned in the street.
- Waste sorting in France: what goes in the yellow binSince 2023 all packaging goes in the French yellow bin. What is accepted, the most common sorting errors, and why you must never sort into a closed bag.
- Illegal waste dumping in Germany: fines and how to report itWhat illegal dumping costs in Germany, why the fine depends on your Bundesland, who to report a dump to, and what a usable report contains.
- Bulky waste in Germany: registering a Sperrmüll collectionHow to register bulky waste collection in Germany, how long the wait is, what is excluded, and what to do when someone else’s furniture appears outside your door.
- Illegal waste dumping in Italy: current fines and how to report itWhat abandoning waste costs in Italy after the 2025 amendments, the difference between criminal and administrative sanctions, and who to report a dump to.
- Illegal waste dumping in the Netherlands: the law and how to report itWhy dumping waste is an economic offence in the Netherlands, who enforces it, what happens to the clean-up costs, and how to file a usable report.
- Illegal dumping in Poland: reporting it and the penaltiesWhere to report an illegal dump in Poland, the difference between the art. 154 misdemeanour and the art. 183 criminal offence, and what a report should contain.
- Waste sorting in Poland: which bin takes whatThe five fractions of Poland’s unified sorting system, what belongs in each colour, the commonest mistakes, and what failing to sort actually costs.
- Waste sorting in the Netherlands: what PMD accepts since 2026Dutch PMD rules widened on 1 January 2026. What is now accepted, what still is not, and why you have to check your own municipality first.
- Waste sorting in Italy: the mistakes that actually matterItalian sorting rules vary by Comune. Here are the ones that hold everywhere, and the errors that ruin entire loads.
- Illegal dumping in Greece: fines and how to report itWhat Greek law provides on uncontrolled dumping, why the fine depends on your municipality, and what a usable report needs to contain.
- Illegal waste dumping in Brazil: the law and how to report itWhy irregular disposal is an environmental crime in Brazil, why hiring a skip does not discharge your liability, and where to dispose of waste free.
- Illegal dumping in Romania: current fines and how to report itWhat abandoning waste costs in Romania under OUG 92/2021, why the older figures still circulate, and where to report an illegal dump.
- Illegal dumping in Turkey: penalties and how to report itTurkish environmental fines are revalued annually. The 2026 amounts, why the figure changes every year, where to report, and what a report needs.
- Fly-tipping in the UK: the law, the fines and how to report itWhy fly-tipping is a criminal offence in the UK, why the fine depends on the council, and how the householder duty of care can make you liable for someone else’s dumping.
- Littering and dumping in Sweden: the law and the finesWhat the Swedish Environmental Code says about littering, why cigarette butts have been fineable since 2022, and how to report illegal dumping.
- Illegal dumping in Czechia: what it costs and how to report itWhy even a single bag beside a bin is legally an illegal dump, what fine an individual faces under the Czech waste act, and who to report it to.
- Illegal dumping in Japan: penalties and bulky waste rulesIllegal dumping in Japan carries up to 5 years or a ¥10 million fine for an individual. How the paid bulky-waste system works, and how to report dumping.
- Illegal dumping in Indonesia: the rules, the penalties and how to report itWhat UU 18/2008 says about dumping and burning waste, why the fine differs by region, and where to report illegal dumping.
- Illegal dumping in South Korea: fines, bag rules and reportingWhat the Wastes Control Act penalises, why using the wrong bag is itself an offence, and how reporting works including the 20% reporter reward.
- Littering and dumping fines in VietnamThe exact amounts set by Decree 45/2022/ND-CP for each act: cigarette ends, dumping in public areas, on pavements and into the urban drainage system.
- Dumping waste in public in Thailand: the law, fines and rewardsWhat the 1992 Cleanliness Act prohibits, the fines, how to report, and the informant reward that gives Bangkok reporters half of the fine imposed.
- Waste sorting rules and penalties in ChinaHow Shanghai’s waste management regulation penalises mixed disposal, why the fine attaches to refusing to correct rather than to the mistake, and how to report dumping.
- Littering and illegal dumping in Taiwan: fines and reportingWhat article 27 of Taiwan’s Waste Disposal Act actually prohibits, the fine range, who to report dumping to, and what a useful report contains.
- Littering, burning and segregation rules in IndiaWhat the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 make mandatory, why the spot fine differs in every city, and where to report illegal dumping.
- Illegal dumping in the Philippines: penalties under RA 9003What RA 9003 prohibits, the littering fine set in the statute itself, the 30-day notice before a suit, and where to report illegal dumping.
- Illegal dumping in Ukraine: penalties and how to report itWhat the penalties are for waste offences in Ukraine, why they are small, where to report an unauthorised dump, and what a report should contain.
- Illegal dumping in Russia: penalties and where to complainWhat article 8.2 of the Administrative Offences Code provides for unloading waste outside designated sites, why dumping from a car is treated separately, and where to report.
- Illegal dumping in Quebec: what the courts actually imposeWhat Quebec’s Environment Quality Act provides, the amounts courts actually impose, the removal order that can exceed the fine, and where to report.
- Recycling in Portugal: what goes in each ecopontoWhat belongs in the yellow, blue and green bins in Portugal, the packaging rule almost nobody knows, and where to take what does not go in them.
- Reporting an overflowing binWho is responsible for overflowing public bins, how to report one so it actually gets fixed, and why the same bin keeps overflowing.
- Waste dumped on private land in PortugalWho is responsible for a private plot filling with waste, what the council can do about it, and how coercive clearing at the owner's cost works.
- Old appliances in Portugal: where to take themThe free take-back you are entitled to when buying a new appliance, dropping off small devices without buying anything, and where the rest goes.
- Dumped furniture and appliances in the streetA mattress, sofa or fridge dumped on your street: what happens to each, why they sit there for weeks, and how to get them moved.
- Dog fouling in Portugal: the law and the finesThe national duty to pick up after your dog in Portugal, why fines differ so much between councils, and what to do about a spot that is always fouled.
- Reporting a pothole in PortugalHow to tell whether a pothole belongs to the council, Infraestruturas de Portugal or a motorway concessionaire, what to include, and how to claim for damage.
- Abandoned vehicles in Portugal: how to report oneWhat Portuguese law counts as an abandoned vehicle, the Código da Estrada time limits, who to report it to, and what happens after removal.
- How to organise a beach cleanup in PortugalA practical guide to running a beach cleanup in Portugal: who to talk to, what to bring, what to do with what you collect, and how to record the data.
- How to organise a community cleanupA practical guide to running a neighbourhood litter pick: permissions, kit, safety, what to do with the waste, and how to make it repeatable.
- You reported it and nothing happened. Now what?What to do when a report to your council goes unanswered: how to strengthen the case, who to escalate to, and what to realistically expect.
How CleanSpot compares
- Litter reporting apps: what to compareSeven things that decide whether a litter reporting app actually gets rubbish collected, and how CleanSpot answers each of them.
- CleanSpot vs FixMyStreetFixMyStreet routes a report to a council. CleanSpot routes it automatically from the coordinates, then gives the neighbourhood the tools to clean it.
- CleanSpot vs A Minha Rua (Portugal)A Minha Rua works in participating councils. CleanSpot works wherever you are, routes by administrative polygon down to the parish, and brings the community that fixes things.
- CleanSpot vs Sintra Resolve: how they differSintra Resolve is the official channel of one Portuguese council. CleanSpot is a public network that works in any municipality. A sourced, dated comparison.
- CleanSpot vs Almada Mais Perto: how they differAlmada Mais Perto is one council's official channel and asks for a taxpayer number to file a report. CleanSpot works in any municipality without that step.
- CleanSpot vs Línea Verde: how they differLínea Verde works in the Spanish councils that subscribe to it. CleanSpot works in any municipality, with a public map and a community. A sourced comparison.
- CleanSpot vs Mais Perto de Si (Loures): how they differLoures council’s app routes to the council, the parish or SIMAR. CleanSpot works in any municipality and asks for no tax number. A sourced comparison.
For municipalities
- Litter reporting software for municipalitiesA citizen reporting and cleanup dispatch platform for local authorities: triage, assignment to teams or contractors, resolution tracking and scheduled reports.
- CleanSpot for Portuguese municipalitiesHow CleanSpot works inside a Portuguese council: triage of citizen reports, assignment to teams or contractors, and tracking through to resolution.
- Choosing a citizen reporting platformWhat to evaluate when buying a citizen reporting platform for a municipality: adoption risk, dispatch, recurrence data, data protection and total cost.
- Data protection and GDPRHow CleanSpot handles personal data: what is public, what is not, where it is hosted, what residents can delete, and what municipal staff can see.