Fly-tipping in England

Fly-tipping is the term given to any kind of illegal dumping of waste on the streets. In England, this ranges from a few black bags of household waste to more hazardous waste like asbestos and animal carcasses thrown on the footpath or bridleway. Heavier items that are generally illegally dumped are fridges, mattresses, builders' rubble and tyres.

The size doesn't matter

The amount of garbage fly-tipped can be as small as a single bag to a truck load. Irrespective of the size, fly-tipping is a serious issue because it stains the environment significantly. It is a major source of pollution, a potential danger to public health, and is hazardous to wildlife.

According to the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), local authorities dealt with 997,553 fly-tipping incidents between 2017/18 - an average of more than 2,700 a day. Although this decreased by 1% from the 1,011,000 reported in 2016/17, it continues to be a concerning issue.

How serious is the problem?

Although, fly-tipping is a universal problem, it is getting worse in England.  With nearly a million fly tipping incidents reported last year (2017/18), an estimated £86m-£186 million is spent every year to investigate and clear up illegal waste. Statistics from DEFRA revealed that the clearance cost of large fly-tipping incidents alone faced by the local authorities in England in 2017/18 was up to £12.2 million, which is a 23.23% increase as compared to the £9.9 million in the year 2016/17. This cost eventually falls on the taxpayers and private landowners. Additionally, fly-tipping not only damages the environment, but also poses a threat to humans and wildlife. Fly-tipping statistics from DEFRA disclosed the type of waste generally fly-tipped. While majority (66%) of fly-tips involved household waste, some hazardous wastes like animal carcasses, asbestos (banned in the UK), chemical drums and clinical waste that was fly-tipped across the country last year were also found.

What are the councils doing about it?

Local councils and the Environment Agency (EA) are both responsible for handling illegally deposited waste. Generally, local councils handle most cases of fly-tipping on public land and the EA investigates and takes action against the bulkier, more serious illegal waste crimes. Statistics released by DEFRA showed that Haringey council had the highest number of fly-tipping incidents – 23,549 incidents contrary to Kingston Upon Thames, which has the lowest numbers of occurrences amongst all the boroughs in London – 1,349 incidents in the year 2017/18.

On the other hand, the Harrow council showed a significant increase in the number of incidents reported as compared to the year before. There were more than 9,600 incidents of illegal waste dumping reported in 2017/18 – an average of around 26 a day – which is an increase of 2,791 from the previous year. Assistant Site Manager for Harrow Recycling Centre, Collin Russell believes that fly-tipping is a persistent problem. Explaining the increase in fly-tipping incidents within the area, Russell said: “It is expensive dispose of waste and industrial fly-tippers particularly will travel a long way around the motor way system to areas like Harrow but not exclusively, to dispose their waste. Much of the fly-tipping in Harrow doesn’t always come from residents.”

According to Russell, frequently fly-tipped items in Harrow include bulky waste materials like mattresses that come out of rented accommodations. Like all the other councils, Harrow is also equipped with all the facilities for waste management. Russell explained: “We provide the facilities for removing the bulky waste like mattresses with sometimes at a small cost to those landlords bringing them in as a business, while it is free of charge if the residents bring them in.”