Waste crime illegal fly tipping

Councils across England dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents in 2023/24, marking a six per cent increase from the 1.08 million reported in the previous year, according to new statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The data, which is based on incidents and actions reported by local authorities through WasteDataFlow, shows that household waste accounted for 60 per cent of all incidents, representing a five per cent increase from 654,000 to 688,000 compared to 2022/23.

Household waste ranks highest in fly-tipping incidents

Analysis of waste types shows that the majority of fly-tipping incidents involved household waste, which included “material from house of shed clearances, old furniture, carpets and small-scale DIY waste” (43 per cent) and “household waste (black bags)” (17 per cent).

Commercial waste represented only six per cent of total incidents in 2023/24, with 74,000 incidents recorded - a decrease of five per cent from the 2022/23 report.

Of the other types of fly-tipping reported, construction, demolition, and excavation and white goods dumpings both increased by eight per cent.

Table 1: Types of other fly-tipping in England, 2023/24 compared to 2022/23

David Gudgeon, Head of External Affairs at Reconomy Connect, a brand by Reconomy, commented on the trends: “The fact that household waste accounts for so much of this clearly demonstrates the need for greater public education on how and where people can safely dispose of waste and the importance of doing so.

“Businesses also have a key role to play in this by ensuring they are using a reputable and fully compliant waste and recycling company.”

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, added: "We need leadership from government as a matter of urgency. We must tackle the crisis in our broken waste system with national product take-back schemes, a complete reform of the waste carrier license scheme and much tougher sanctions on those criminals who are coming to people’s doors, profiting from ignorance and dumping waste wherever they fancy."

Regional variations shows London with highest illegal dumping rates

The updated statistics show significant variations in fly-tipping rates across England. London reported the highest average number of incidents per 1,000 people at 50, while the South West had the lowest at nine incidents. The national average stands at 20 per 1,000 people in 2023/24.

Table 2: Fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 people in England by region, 2023/24 compared to 2022/23

Defra notes that comparisons between local authorities reporting higher incident numbers are often "being more pro-active and rigorous in identifying incidents by encouraging the public to report incidents, training of street crews, and increased use of more sophisticated methods for capturing and reporting incidents."

Highways (pavements and roads) were the most common land type for fly-tipping, accounting for 37 per cent of all incidents, although this was a decrease by one per cent from the year prior.

Fly-tipping on footpaths and bridleways was the next most common location, representing 19 per cent, followed by council land at 17 per cent. Incidents on footpaths and bridleways increased by 20 per cent from 182,000 to 218,000.

Small van loads and car boots most common fly-tipping sizes

The data categorises incidents by size, with “small van load” being the most common in 2023/24, representing 31 per cent of incidents - a nine per cent increase from the previous year.

The second largest category was equivalent to a “car boot or less”, with fly-tipping of this size increasing by 11 per cent from 283,000 incidents to 315,000 incidents.

Although larger fly-tipping incidents, defined as ‘tipper lorry load’ size or larger, only accounted for four per cent, the cost of clearance of the large-scale waste for local authorities in England was £13.1 million.

Highlighting the financial burden for councils, Julie Fourcade, Head of External Affairs at FCC Environment, said: "“Fly-tipping is blight on the UK’s countryside, and brings with it a significant cost for councils to deal with. With council budgets increasingly tight, this money could be better spent investing in initiatives and services that help drive up recycling rates, rather than dealing with the mess left by rogue operators."

Enforcement and prosecution of waste dumping

Despite the increase in incidents, enforcement actions decreased slightly in 2023/24. Local authorities carried out 528,000 enforcement actions, a small reduction from 530,000 in 2022/23.

Discussing the enforcement of fly-tipping crimes, Dan Cooke, Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at CIWM, commented: "Enforcement action was taken in only around 50 per cent of incidents, with 63,000 fixed penalty notices issued and only 1,378 court fines imposed (at an average of £530). This shows that far too many people are getting away with it—either acting out of laziness, lack of information, or deliberately breaking the law.

"Fly-tipping is waste crime. We applaud those local authorities and their partners taking concerted action. Effective enforcement needs greater resourcing, including improved information and awareness, and a coordinated effort by relevant agencies to reduce and minimise the risk of further escalation."

Cllr Adam Hug, Environmental Spokesperson for the Local Government Association, added: "Penalties handed down from prosecution fail to match the severity of the offence committed. We continue to urge the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping so that offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent.

“Manufacturers should also contribute to the costs to councils of clear up, by providing more take-back services so people can hand in sofas, old furniture and mattresses when they buy new ones.”