# Fly-tipping in England

Local councils in England recorded 1,257,863 fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25, a 9 per cent rise on the year before and the second highest on record, behind only 2007/08 (1,284,123). That is around 3,446 incidents every day. Highways and pavements absorb 37 per cent of all dumps; household waste accounts for 62 per cent of what is left. Enforcement actions reached 571,861 but prosecutions numbered only 1,377, fewer than one per thousand incidents.

Source page: https://britishresilienceindex.com/deep-dive/fly-tipping
Machine readable data: https://britishresilienceindex.com/data/deep-dive/fly-tipping.json

## How to read this

Figures come from the WasteDataFlow system, through which local authorities in England report fly-tipping data to DEFRA annually. All 296 councils in England that have waste collection or waste disposal functions are included. A methodological change in 2019/20 means data from that year onwards is not directly comparable with earlier years; DEFRA also restated 2018/19 on the new basis. Clearance cost data was discontinued after 2016/17. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are outside the scope of this dataset.

## From falling to near record levels

Fly-tipping halved between 2007/08 and 2012/13, falling from 1,284,123 to 714,637 as local authorities tightened licensing and reporting. Since then it has climbed almost without interruption. The 2024/25 total of 1,257,863 is the second highest in the published record, behind only 2007/08, and sits 9 per cent above 2023/24. The 2019/20 methodology change means the series before and after 2019 are not fully comparable; the broad direction is nonetheless clear.

**Series**

| fy | n |
|---|---|
| 2007/08 | 1,284,123 |
| 2008/09 | 1,165,003 |
| 2009/10 | 946,906 |
| 2010/11 | 819,571 |
| 2011/12 | 744,414 |
| 2012/13 | 714,637 |
| 2013/14 | 857,655 |
| 2014/15 | 905,604 |
| 2015/16 | 941,896 |
| 2016/17 | 1,011,199 |
| 2017/18 | 997,612 |
| 2018/19 | 1,072,468 |
| 2019/20 | 979,728 |
| 2020/21 | 1,138,347 |
| 2021/22 | 1,091,019 |
| 2022/23 | 1,084,044 |
| 2023/24 | 1,152,632 |
| 2024/25 | 1,257,863 |

- **Methodology break note**: Data for 2019/20 onwards is not directly comparable with earlier years due to a methodological change. DEFRA published a restated 2018/19 figure on the new basis (957,157) for reference.

## Household rubbish and pavements dominate

In 2024/25, 62 per cent of fly-tipping involved household waste (either loose black bags or other household items), broadly stable over several years. Construction, demolition, and excavation waste accounted for 69,592 incidents (6 per cent), and the remaining types including tyres, white goods, and asbestos are each a small share but carry higher clearance costs. By location, highways and pavements remain the most common dumping ground at 37 per cent of incidents, followed by footpaths and bridleways at 20 per cent and council land at 18 per cent.

**Waste types**

| type | n | pct |
|---|---|---|
| Household waste (other) | 560,934 | 44.6 |
| Household waste (black bags) | 215,754 | 17.2 |
| Other unidentified | 183,049 | 14.6 |
| Construction, demolition, excavation | 69,592 | 5.5 |
| White goods | 59,763 | 4.8 |
| Green waste | 36,719 | 2.9 |
| Commercial waste (other) | 36,747 | 2.9 |
| Other electrical | 21,248 | 1.7 |
| Tyres | 12,738 | 1 |
| Vehicle parts | 10,593 | 0.8 |
| Asbestos | 3,125 | 0.2 |

**Land types**

| type | n | pct |
|---|---|---|
| Highway (road or pavement) | 463,384 | 36.8 |
| Footpath or bridleway | 253,773 | 20.2 |
| Council land | 222,681 | 17.7 |
| Other (unidentified) | 180,620 | 14.4 |
| Back alleyway | 108,893 | 8.7 |
| Private or residential | 14,771 | 1.2 |
| Agricultural land | 4,196 | 0.3 |
| Railway | 2,845 | 0.2 |
| Watercourse or bank | 2,744 | 0.2 |
| Commercial or industrial | 3,956 | 0.3 |

- **Household combined pct**: 61.7
- **Highway pct**: 36.8

## The local authority league table, 2024/25

London boroughs dominate by both absolute count and per capita rate. Croydon recorded the most incidents of any council in England at 53,268, while Camden had the highest rate at 167 per 1,000 residents. Outside London, Nottingham (79 per 1,000) and Great Yarmouth (77 per 1,000) stand out. The England median across all 296 reporting authorities was 11 incidents per 1,000 people, meaning the busiest councils are reporting ten to fifteen times that rate. Population data is ONS mid year estimates supplied by DEFRA within the dataset.

- **England total**: 1,257,863
- **La count**: 296
- **Median rate per1k**: 11.4
- **Mean rate per1k**: 18.7
**Top20 by total**

| la | region | n | pop | ratePer1k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croydon | London | 53,268 | 409,342 | 130.1 |
| Camden | London | 36,216 | 216,943 | 166.9 |
| Lewisham | London | 33,471 | 301,255 | 111.1 |
| Hackney | London | 31,042 | 266,758 | 116.4 |
| Newham | London | 26,502 | 374,523 | 70.8 |
| Nottingham | East Midlands | 26,138 | 331,077 | 78.9 |
| Ealing | London | 25,394 | 385,985 | 65.8 |
| Hounslow | London | 25,177 | 299,424 | 84.1 |
| Birmingham | West Midlands | 24,664 | 1,183,618 | 20.8 |
| West Northamptonshire | East Midlands | 21,304 | 439,811 | 48.4 |
| Lambeth | London | 21,220 | 316,920 | 67 |
| Liverpool | North West | 20,300 | 508,961 | 39.9 |
| Westminster | London | 20,047 | 209,996 | 95.5 |
| Bradford | Yorkshire and The Humber | 19,697 | 563,605 | 34.9 |
| Southwark | London | 18,530 | 314,786 | 58.9 |
| Haringey | London | 16,915 | 263,850 | 64.1 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | North East | 16,731 | 320,605 | 52.2 |
| Greenwich | London | 16,638 | 299,528 | 55.5 |
| Brent | London | 16,338 | 352,976 | 46.3 |
| Manchester | North West | 14,963 | 589,670 | 25.4 |

**Top20 per capita**

| la | region | n | pop | ratePer1k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | London | 36,216 | 216,943 | 166.9 |
| Croydon | London | 53,268 | 409,342 | 130.1 |
| Hackney | London | 31,042 | 266,758 | 116.4 |
| Lewisham | London | 33,471 | 301,255 | 111.1 |
| Westminster | London | 20,047 | 209,996 | 95.5 |
| Hounslow | London | 25,177 | 299,424 | 84.1 |
| Nottingham | East Midlands | 26,138 | 331,077 | 78.9 |
| Great Yarmouth | East | 7,720 | 100,529 | 76.8 |
| Newham | London | 26,502 | 374,523 | 70.8 |
| Merton | London | 14,883 | 218,539 | 68.1 |
| Lambeth | London | 21,220 | 316,920 | 67 |
| Ealing | London | 25,394 | 385,985 | 65.8 |
| Haringey | London | 16,915 | 263,850 | 64.1 |
| Pendle | North West | 6,186 | 99,777 | 62 |
| Southwark | London | 18,530 | 314,786 | 58.9 |
| Greenwich | London | 16,638 | 299,528 | 55.5 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | London | 7,613 | 144,518 | 52.7 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | North East | 16,731 | 320,605 | 52.2 |
| Harrow | London | 13,925 | 270,724 | 51.4 |
| Kingston-upon-Hull | Yorkshire and The Humber | 13,663 | 275,401 | 49.6 |

- **Fy**: 2024/25

## Over a million incidents, 1,377 prosecutions

In 2024/25 councils took 571,861 enforcement actions against 1,257,863 incidents, a ratio of roughly 0.45 actions per incident. Most actions are investigations (386,328) or warning letters (62,194). Fixed penalty notices totalled 68,760, of which only 19,196 were issued specifically for fly-tipping; the rest covered littering or household duty of care. Prosecutions reached just 1,377, fewer than one per thousand incidents. The courts secured 1,364 successful outcomes from those prosecutions. Clearance cost data was discontinued after 2016/17 when the last available figure was approximately GBP 58 million; DEFRA has noted data quality concerns that led to its removal.

- **Latest fy**: 2024/25
- **Incidents**: 1,257,863
- **Total actions**: 571,861
- **Actions per incident**: 0.455
- **Fpn total**: 68,760
- **Fpn specific fly tipping**: 19,196
- **Prosecutions**: 1,377
- **Prosecutions per thousand incidents**: 1.09
**Series**

| fy | incidents | totalActions | fpn | prosecutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007/08 | 1,284,123 | 503,662 | 23,575 | 2,209 |
| 2008/09 | 1,165,003 | 524,796 | 22,240 | 1,995 |
| 2009/10 | 946,906 | 537,123 | 25,874 | 2,457 |
| 2010/11 | 819,571 | 568,052 | 32,963 | 2,409 |
| 2011/12 | 744,414 | 489,815 | 39,314 | 2,796 |
| 2012/13 | 714,637 | 425,235 | 35,433 | 2,170 |
| 2013/14 | 857,655 | 499,563 | 36,835 | 2,002 |
| 2014/15 | 905,604 | 514,914 | 38,149 | 1,810 |
| 2015/16 | 941,896 | 494,528 | 35,888 | 2,203 |
| 2016/17 | 1,011,199 | 475,784 | 57,271 | 1,571 |
| 2017/18 | 997,612 | 494,791 | 68,905 | 2,108 |
| 2018/19 | 1,072,468 | 500,329 | 76,963 | 2,005 |
| 2019/20 | 979,728 | 473,051 | 75,445 | 1,930 |
| 2020/21 | 1,138,347 | 455,467 | 57,658 | 721 |
| 2021/22 | 1,091,019 | 507,432 | 91,034 | 1,960 |
| 2022/23 | 1,084,044 | 530,205 | 66,661 | 1,681 |
| 2023/24 | 1,152,632 | 529,708 | 63,303 | 1,598 |
| 2024/25 | 1,257,863 | 571,861 | 68,760 | 1,377 |

**Fpn breakdown**

| fy | specificFlyTipping | householdDutyOfCare | litteringConjunction | otherFPN | totalFPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018/19 | 12,608 | 255 | 36,939 | 27,161 | 76,963 |
| 2019/20 | 13,416 | 2,503 | 28,015 | 31,511 | 75,445 |
| 2020/21 | 14,205 | 1,705 | 27,976 | 13,772 | 57,658 |
| 2021/22 | 23,613 | 5,893 | 42,562 | 18,966 | 91,034 |
| 2022/23 | 20,937 | 4,668 | 25,768 | 15,288 | 66,661 |
| 2023/24 | 20,287 | 6,288 | 22,480 | 14,248 | 63,303 |
| 2024/25 | 19,196 | 8,028 | 30,624 | 10,912 | 68,760 |

- **Last clearance cost year**: 2016/17
- **Last clearance cost gbp**: 57,966,874

## For councils and the public

- Incidents reached a record 1.26 million in 2024/25. Is the rise driven by more dumping, better recording, or both, and how would we know the difference?
- Highways absorb 37 per cent of incidents and footpaths 20 per cent. These are public spaces with CCTV and witnesses. Why do prosecutions remain below 1,500 a year?
- 62 per cent of fly-tips involve household waste. If householders cannot or do not use bulky waste collections and recycling centres, what does that say about the adequacy of those services, particularly since many councils have cut them?
- London boroughs record rates ten to fifteen times the England median. Is that a genuine difference in behaviour, or does it reflect more systematic reporting by better resourced councils?
- Clearance costs were last published for 2016/17 at around GBP 58 million. Given the record incident levels today, what is the current cost to council taxpayers, and why is this no longer published?

## Sources

- Fly-tipping incidents and actions (national level data) 2007/08 to 2024/25 (DEFRA) (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/699dbf58c497bac082bc75a4/Flytipping_incidents_and_actions_taken__national_level_data__2007-08_to_2024-25v2.ods) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- Fly-tipping incidents reported by LAs in England 2012/13 to 2024/25 (DEFRA) (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/699dbf7e3e672177d0bc75b0/Flytipping_incidents_and_actions_taken__reported_by_LAs_in_England__2012-13_to_2024-25v2.ods) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- Fly-tipping statistics for England, 2024 to 2025 (DEFRA statistical release) (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-statistics-for-england/fly-tipping-statistics-for-england-2024-to-2025) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- ONS mid year population estimates (embedded in DEFRA dataset) (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates) · Open Government Licence v3.0

## Caveats and data notes

- A methodological change in 2019/20 means data from that year onwards is not directly comparable with earlier years. DEFRA restated 2018/19 on the new basis (957,157 incidents) for reference. The broad direction of travel is nonetheless consistent.
- Figures are counts of incidents reported by local authorities, not a census of every instance of illegal dumping. Incidents not reported, not investigated, or on private land may not be captured fully.
- Per capita rates use ONS mid year population estimates supplied within the DEFRA dataset. Rates for councils with large transient populations (central London, university towns) will overstate the burden on residents.
- The waste type and land type breakdowns do not always sum to the total incident count. DEFRA notes this is because some incidents lack a recorded type.
- Size category counts relate only to incidents investigated and cleared by the local authority and exclude incidents on private land that the council did not clear.
- Clearance and enforcement cost data were discontinued after 2016/17. DEFRA cited data quality issues. The last published figure (2016/17: GBP 58 million clearance cost) is shown for historical context only.
- Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland operate separate reporting systems and are not covered by this dataset.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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British Resilience Index, a non-partisan UK civic data project. Every figure is
reconciled to its primary official publisher before it is shown. Free to cite with
attribution: https://britishresilienceindex.com