Fly-tipping: the illegal dumping of waste

Fly-tipping is the illegal disposal of household, industrial, commercial or other ‘controlled’ waste. The waste can be liquid or solid. ‘Controlled’ waste includes garden refuse and larger domestic items such as fridges and mattresses.

Fly-tipping is not the same as littering. Littering is commonly assumed to include materials, often associated with smoking, eating and drinking. More information on litter can be found in the Commons Library briefing on litter.

Fly-tipping is a devolved issue and this briefing focuses on England. Further information can also be provided to MPs and their staff on request.

The scale of fly-tipping

Government Fly-tipping statistics for England, April 2023 to March 2024 show that:

• For the 2023/24 year, local authoritiesin England dealt with 15 million fly-tipping incidents, an increase of 6% from the 1.08 million reported in 2022/23.
• In 2023/24,60% of fly-tips involved household waste. Total incidents involving household waste were 688,000 in 2023/24, an increase of 5% from 654,000 incidents in 2022/23.

Responsibility for fly tipping and powers to require clearance

• Local authorities are responsible for investigating, clearing and taking appropriate enforcement action in relation to small scale fly-tipping on public land.
• In England the Environment Agency is responsible for dealing with larger-scale fly-tipping (more than a lorry load), hazardous waste and fly-tipping by organised gangs.
• On private land, it is normally the responsibility of the landowner to remove the waste.

Local authorities and the Environment Agency have legal powers to require landowners to clear fly-tipped waste from their land. They also have powers to enter the land and clear it and may seek reimbursement for costs related to it. 

Penalties for fly-tipping

There is currently no minimum fine set out in law for unlawfully depositing waste under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent courts. Other available penalties include the issue of a fixed penalty notices and having a vehicle seized. Householders can receive a fixed penalty notice of up to £600 if they pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier which is subsequently fly-tipped.

Concern about costs to private landowners

Concern has been raised about the costs involved to private landowners of clearing fly tipped waste from their land and several campaigns have been launched calling for change in this area.

UK Government plans for reform

Through the Crime and Policing Bill 2024-25 the government is seeking powers to issue statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement to local authorities. Local authorities would be required to have regard to the guidance.

The government has announced plans to introduce mandatory digital waste tracking from April 2026. A digital waste tracking system would require those who produce, handle, dispose of, or make products from, waste to enter information onto it. Among other things it aims to enable regulators to better detect illegal activity and tackle waste crime, including fly-tipping.

There are plans for the Environment Agency to introduce a waste crime levy on specified legitimate waste operations, to better fund regulatory work targeting waste crime.

The UK Government has also indicated that it will make changes to the waste carrier, broker and dealer registration system, to make it easier to identify rogue operators in the waste sector.