Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy is calling for urgent action to clamp down on rogue waste operators and strengthen enforcement on waste crime as new research among local authorities reveals fly-tipping incidents are rising and councils are increasingly frustrated by the scale of the problem.
To inform its new ‘Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight’ campaign, Keep Britain Tidy carried out research among local authorities, revealing that:
- 98% say fly-tipping is a problem in their area, with almost three quarters (70%) reporting a ‘major problem’.
- Almost all (96%) are frustrated with the increasing severity of the issue. More than half (56%) report that incidents have increased in the past year and 54% feel that they won’t ever get on top of the problem.
- Two in five (40%) fly-tipping incidents are now reported to be left by rogue ‘white van’ operators rather than individuals – showing how profit-driven waste crime has become a significant contributor to the problem.
Dr Anna Scott, Director of Services at Keep Britain TidyFly-tipping is not a victimless crime nor is it petty offending, it is organised crime that undermines responsible businesses, damages our environment and erodes public trust.
Nationally, more than 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents were reported in 2023-24 by councils. With estimated costs to landowners and council tax-payers ranging from £100 million to £150 million for clearance and investigation, fly-tipping diverts funding away from vital services like schools, social care and parks.
Keep Britain Tidy is calling for coordinated national action with a new Fly-tipping Action Plan recommending a series of measures including:
- Smarter prevention: facilitating the legitimate disposal of goods; stricter permitting and easier recognition for waste carriers, improved education for householders and increased responsibility on companies to collect, reuse and recycle commonly fly-tipped goods.
- Tougher enforcement: ensuring local authorities are better equipped to catch waste criminals; introducing stronger penalties and deterrents including higher fines, points on driving licences and crushing of vehicles used by criminals.
Together, these measures form a practical roadmap to drive down fly-tipping, support local enforcement and ensure waste crime is treated with the seriousness it deserves.
Dr Anna Scott, Director of Services at Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Fly-tipping is not a victimless crime nor is it petty offending, it is organised crime that undermines responsible businesses, damages our environment and erodes public trust. To turn the tide, we need tougher penalties to deter offenders, a robust permitting system so rogue operators can’t hide in plain sight and measures that make it easier for people to dispose of waste legally and responsibly."
Keep Britain Tidy is running a Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight public awareness campaign from 10 – 23 November to educate people about how to avoid falling for a #RubbishDeal when hiring someone to take away their household rubbish. Featuring real-life CCTV footage supplied by local authorities, the campaign exposes rogue ‘house clearance’ merchants being caught in the act of illegally dumping large quantities of household rubbish.