1.15 million incidents recorded
In England, local authorities dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents between April 2023 and March 2024.
60% were household waste
The most common type of dumped waste was household waste, accounting for 60% of incidents.
£1bn bill for waste crime
Fly-tipping is one aspect of a patchwork of waste crimes that account for a fifth of all waste - costing our economy £1bn.
Tipping a mattress, electrical items or a bin bag full of rubbish in the street causes a local nuisance and makes an area look ugly and run down. At its most serious, fly-tipping can involve many truckloads of construction and demolition waste being tipped on different types of land, very often in the countryside.
Uncontrolled illegal waste disposal can be hazardous to the public, especially if it contains toxic material or asbestos. There is a risk of damage to watercourses and soil quality from the dumped waste.
Fly-tipping is a serious criminal offence for which you can be prosecuted. The courts have various powers available to them to tackle fly-tipping, including imprisonment, unlimited fines and an order to deprive rights to a vehicle used to commit the offence.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, CEO, Keep Britain TidyAnyone who is living in a community that is regularly fly-tipped knows this is not a victimless crime.
What are Keep Britain Tidy doing to change this?
There isn't a local authority area in the country that isn't impacted by fly-tipping and our latest research with councils shows that 98% report fly-tipping is a problem in their area, with 70% saying it is a major problem.
We work with local authorities up and down the country to help them combat fly-tipping.
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What else needs to be done to combat fly-tipping?
We have poured all of our knowledge and expertise into our latest Fly-Tipping Action Plan, published in November 2025 and developed using the insights from Keep Britain Tidy’s local authority Network and research with the public.
Fly-tipping - FAQs
If you are a private landowner and become a victim of fly-tipping then it is your responsibility to safely dispose of the waste and pay any costs for doing so.
Report the incident to your local authority or the Environment Agency. Although they have no obligation to remove the waste, they may be able to provide guidance on the best way to deal with the removal of the waste.
You will need to decide how to deal with the waste that has been dumped on your land. Make sure that the waste cannot be interfered with or escape.
Check that any contractor employed to remove the waste is a registered waste carrier. You can do this by calling the general enquires Environment Agency number on 08708 506506.
Search for registered waste carriers
Think about why your land has been targeted. Is the area easy to access? Is it an area where people cannot be seen fly-tipping? Once you have established the reason why your land has been targeted, you may want to take steps to make it less vulnerable.
- Bulky Waste (eg fridges, sofas etc.)
- While your council is not obliged to remove this, many local authorities do provide a bulky waste collection service. Visit your council's website for information.
- Garden Waste
- Most local authorities operate a garden waste collection service, often in a separate bin. Otherwise take garden waste to your local household waste recycling centre for composting or compost it at home.
Commercial Waste
- If you run a business, you must have a contract with a registered waste carrier to ensure that your waste is being taken away and disposed of correctly. If you are disposing of business waste yourself at a household waste recycling centre or a landfill site, then the site must be licensed to take commercial waste. You will have to pay a gate fee and landfill tax.
If you are asking a third party (eg builder) to remove your waste as part of a job, you must ensure that they are a registered waste carrier. Ask to see their certificate, check it on the Environment Agency website and get a receipt.
What to do if you find fly-tipping
You should report it to your local council in the first instance. If you report it, the rubbish can be removed and, with your help, the crime can be investigated. If you see someone fly-tipping or you want to report an area where fly-tipping has taken place, take note of the following:
- Date, time and place of the incident
- What the waste looks like and how much there is
- Descriptions of any person and/or vehicles involved along with the registration number
As fly-tippers are doing something that is illegal they do not want to be caught. Do not approach them or put your own safety at risk.
Both local authorities and the Environment Agency have powers to tackle fly-tipping and they have agreed a fly-tipping protocol to address the important issues associated with the problem. The protocol sets out who will deal with different types of incidents.
Local authorities deal with smaller-scale incidents and the Environment Agency deal with larger-scale incidents of illegal waste disposal, fly-tipping including hazardous wastes and tipping carried out by organised criminals.
Reports to the Environment Agency can be made using their national hotline number 0800 807 060.
Find out more
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MPs, local authorities and Keep Britain Tidy's own experts contributed to a discussion on the steps that are needed to tackle the country's fly-tipping epidemic at latest meeting of Tidy Britain All-Party Parliamentary Group.
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