Fly-tipping has increased by a ‘shocking’ 6% (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
Campaigners have slammed Britain’s fly tipping “tragedy” after incidents increased by 6% in one year.
Taxpayers fork out more than £100million each year to clean the illegal acts across the country, figures released by the Government on Wednesday show.
Local authorities in England dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping dumps in 2023/24, a rise from the 1.08 million reported the previous year.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, said: “These statistics are a tragedy. Fly-tipping is costing each and everyone of us; the increasing sums needed to clean up the mess that’s wrecking both the environment and communities where it significantly contributes to people feeling ‘left behind’.
“This 6% increase in incidents dealt with by local authorities – taking the total to a whopping 1.15 million – is frightening and shameful.
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.
Some 47,000 or around 4% of total incidents in 2023/24, were of “tipper lorry load” size or larger, which is an increase of 11% from 42,000 in 2022/23.
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For these large fly-tipping incidents, the cost of clearance to local authorities in England in 2023/24 was £13.1 million.
Campaigners said the Government needs to act “as a matter of urgency”.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “Fly-tipping is a disgraceful act which trashes communities and its increase is unacceptable. Communities and businesses shouldn’t have to put up with these crimes.
“This Government will crack down on fly tipping and punish rubbish dumpers, forcing them to clean up their mess.
“Through the new Crime and Policing Bill we will also give ministers the power to issue statutory guidance to councils to drive up fly-tipping enforcement.”
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, said: “This latest data is staggering and underlines the severe economic harm of fly tipping.
“It shows that the taxpayer is footing a £13.1million 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.
“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.”