England recorded a 6% increase in fly-tipping incidents to 1.15million in 2023/24 - comment from Reconomy
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs - Fly-tipping statistics for England, 2023 to 2024
For the 2023/24 year, local authorities in England dealt with 1.15 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.
In 2023/24, 47,000 or around 4% of total incidents were of ‘tipper lorry load’ size or larger, which is an increase of 11% from 42,000 in 2022/23. For these large fly-tipping incidents, the cost of clearance to local authorities in England in 2023/24 was £13.1 million.
The average court fine has increased from £526 in 2022/23 to £530 in 2023/24. The total number of court fines decreased by 8% from 1,491 in 2022/23 to 1,378 in 2023/24, with the combined value of these fines decreasing by 7% from £785,000 to £730,000.
David Gudgeon, Head of External Affairs at Reconomy Connect, a brand by Reconomy, the international circular economy specialist,commented: “This latest data is staggering and underlines the severe economic harm of fly tipping. It shows that the taxpayer is footing a £13.1m bill to handle the costs of clearances for tipper lorry size loads (or larger) loads, while the authorities are only recovering £730,000 from fines, a 7% decrease on 2022/23.
“This highlights a number of important call-to-actions. The fact that household waste accounts for so much of this clearly demonstrates the need for greater public education on how and where people can safely dispose of waste and the importance of doing so. There also needs to be a greater focus on fines and enforcement action to create better deterrents and a change in societal thinking to acknowledge the negative impact fly-tipping has on all of us. Businesses also have a key role to play in this by ensuring they are using a reputable and fully compliant waste and recycling company.
“Digital Waste Tracking, a UK-wide system that records waste from households, businesses, and industries, due to come into effect in April 2026 may help tackle this issue. Ultimately though, the data reiterates the imperative of accelerating our shift towards a truly circular economy which protects local environments, boosts economic resilience and future-proofs businesses by preventing waste and circulating resources back into use.”
