Fly-tipping: the illegal dumping of waste

By Louise Smith

What is fly-tipping? 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. How big is the problem? The most recent Government Fly-tipping statistics for England, 2021/22 show that: • For the 2021/22 year, local authorities in England dealt with 1.09 million fly-tipping incidents, a decrease of 4% from the 1.14 million reported in 2020/21. • The percentage of fly-tips involving household waste has fallen from 65% to 61% in 2021/22. Total incidents involving household waste were 671,000 in 2021/22, a decrease of 9% from 740,000 incidents in 2020/21. 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.   

London: UK House of Commons, 2023.