New fly-tipping figures reveal recorded incidents up yet enforcement action down

The Government has published fly-tipping statistics for England, 2019 to 2020. Total cases dealt with by councils rose by 2 per cent to 976,000 in 2019-20 but the number of enforcement actions, including fixed penalties, fell by 5 per cent to 474,000.

Sarah Lee, Head of Policy at the Countryside Alliance said: "For many people living in the countryside, these figures will be of no real surprise. Each incident of fly-tipping represents total disrespect towards the environment and nature. But clearly this is a nationwide issue, hitting our towns and cities, as well as rural areas.

She added: "What's even more concerning, is these figures show us an increase in fly-tipping year on year and yet we see enforcement actions going down. It is simply not good enough to record this anti-social crime on a spreadsheet. We have to show these criminals that it will not be tolerated with the courts handing out tougher penalties. There can be no excuse for fly-tipping and anyone using waste collector, has a duty to ensure they are registered."

Key points:

• For the 2019/20 year, local authorities in England dealt with just under 1 million (976,000) fly-tipping incidents, an increase of 2% from the 957,000 reported in 2018/19.
• Just under two thirds (65%) of fly-tips involved household waste. Total incidents involving household waste were 632,000 in 2019/20, an increase of 7% from 588,000 in 2018/19.
• The most common place for fly-tipping to occur was on highways (pavements and roads), which accounted for over two fifths (43%) of total incidents in 2019/20. In 2019/20, the number of highway incidents was 419,000, which was an increase of 6% from 396,000 in 2018/19.
• The most common size category for fly-tipping incidents in 2019/20 was equivalent to a 'small van load' (34% of total incidents), followed by the equivalent of a 'car boot or less' (28%).
• In 2019/20, 33,000 or 3% of total incidents were of 'tipper lorry load' size or larger, which is a decrease of 8% from 36,000 in 2018/19. For these large fly-tipping incidents, the cost of clearance to local authorities in England in 2019/20 was £10.9 million, compared with £12.8 million in 2018/19.
• Local authorities carried out 474,000 enforcement actions in 2019/20, a decrease of 26,000 actions (5%) from 501,000 in 2018/19.
• The number of fixed penalty notices issued was 75,400 in 2019/20, a decrease of 2% from 77,000 in 2018/19. This is the second most common action (after investigations), and accounted for 16% of all actions in 2019/20.
• The number of court fines issued increased from 2,056 (30%) to 2,671 in 2019/20, with the value of total fines increasing to £1,170,000 (an increase of 7% on the £1,090,000 total value of fines in 2018/19).

We urge the public to check well in advance before planning to carry out any household activity that will likely generate abnormal levels of waste.

Where possible, please ensure you can store this waste safely at home. Should you require a tip, please do check to see what restrictions are in place. In some cases, visits should only be carried out by one person at a time.

If you are having a clear out and do not have access to a tip, please:

• Keep your waste at home until you are able to dispose of it legally; or
• Use a registered waste carrier such as Any Junk; and
• Remember, you can be prosecuted for fly-tipping.

Please note, these latest figures do not include the lockdown period.

Keep Britain Tidy said the increase in fly-tipping showed the need for urgent reform of the licensing system.

Allison Ogden-Newton, the charity's chief executive, said: "This environmental crime is being driven by 'man with a van' operators. Licences should be difficult to get, thoroughly checked and essential to carry out door-to-door waste collection."

The Country Land and Business Association, which represents landowners, said the recorded figures were "just the tip of the iceberg" because they did not include the vast majority of fly-tipping on private land.

Rebecca Pow, the environment minister, said: "We are committed to tackling waste crime even further, but there is more that we must all do."