Fly-tipping: council responsibilities
How local authorities must deal with fly-tipping and the penalties they can charge.
Fly-tipping is illegal dumping of liquid or solid waste on land or in water. The waste is usually dumped to avoid disposal costs.
You need to follow different rules for litter, which is usually less than a black bag’s worth, for example food or tobacco-related litter.
Fly-tipping: your responsibilities
Assess the incident
You must gather as much information as you can about:
- the circumstances, for example if anyone witnessed the fly-tipping, the date and time it happened and a description of any vehicles involved
- land type, for example relevant land or privately owned
- location, for example highway verge, back alleyway, railway embankment or river
- the amount and type of waste, for example solid, liquid or gas
- its potential effects, for example how it may harm people, animals or the environment
Fly-tipping on land
You must remove and dispose of all fly-tipped waste if it’s on relevant land.
However, you need to contact the Environment Agency if the illegally dumped waste is:
- more than 20 tonnes (about 20 cubic metres)
- more than 5 cubic metres of fibrous asbestos or 75 litres of potentially hazardous waste in drums or containers
- possibly linked to criminal business activity or organised crime
Only refer small amounts of fly-tipping if you know it’s linked to crime - you may want to develop a local agreement with the Environment Agency and other partners where there is a known waste crime problem.
If you find asbestos in the waste, report the fly-tipping incident to the Health and Safety Executive.
Fly-tipping in water
You must remove and dispose of fly-tipped waste in water on council land. You may investigate or enforce if the waste:
- is causing amenity issues in an ordinary watercourse or main river
- is causing significant flood risk on an ordinary watercourse
- risks polluting a non-controlled water
The Environment Agency may remove waste, investigate or enforce when there is:
- significant flood risk on a main river or critical ordinary watercourse
- risk of pollution to controlled water
If the Environment Agency arranges for the removal and disposal of waste it may try to recover its costs from the council.
Investigation, penalties and prosecution
You should investigate fly tipping incidents relevant land or water. Following your investigation, you may choose to pursue enforcement action.
The Environment Agency may investigate if the incident is large-scale, serious, organised illegal dumping or immediately threatens human health or the environment.
If a landowner reports fly-tipped waste on their land you can choose whether to investigate.
Preliminary investigations
Carry out a preliminary investigation to assess whether to take further action based on:
- how serious the offence is
- potential costs
- likelihood of prosecution
This might involve a review of:
- witness claims
- the scene
- evidence, for example CCTV footage
- local knowledge
Full investigation
If you carry out a criminal investigation it must be in line with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
You must carry out surveillance and investigations in line with Regulatory Investigation Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 parts 1 and 2. See the local authority use of RIPA guidance.
You can:
- check if the offender has complied with their waste duty of care
- seize a vehicle, trailer or mobile plant you suspect of being involved in waste crime
- use your right to legally enter land, vehicles or premises - see the powers of entry guidance
- serve a notice on anyone you think can provide information on the driver of a vehicle used at the time when the offence was committed
Penalties and notices
You can issue a fixed penalty notice if it’s in line with your enforcement policy.
You can refer to litter enforcement guidance when taking enforcement action against fly-tipping and related offences.
The fixed penalty notice is not an appropriate sanction for:
- operators in the waste management industry
- repeat offenders
- those responsible for large-scale fly-tipping or the fly-tipping of hazardous waste
These types of incidents will be enforced by local authorities or the Environment Agency using existing prosecution powers.
You can serve and enforce a notice requiring the occupier of the land to remove fly-tipped waste and remediate the land.
Prosecutions
You can prosecute using:
- Environmental Protection Act 1990 section 33
- Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, regulations 12 and 38
- Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, schedule 21 – water discharge activities
Convicted parties can be fined an unlimited amount or imprisoned for up to 5 years. Tell the Environment Agency if your prosecution results in a conviction - it may need to review licences or permits.
Read the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group guidance on how to present robust cases to court.
Claiming costs
You or the Environment Agency may attempt to recover the costs spent on investigations, clean up and enforcement work from the:
- polluter
- occupier or landowner
Keeping records
Record the details of the fly-tipping incident, costs incurred and any action(s) taken in the fly-tipping module of the Waste Data Flow.
Prevent fly-tipping
Read the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG) guidance on how to prevent fly-tipping and a selection of case studies from the Fly-tipping Intervention Grant Scheme that show local authority best practice.
Last updated 28 March 2024 + show all updates
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Updated to reflect that the Environment Agency has a role in enforcement against large-scale or hazardous waste fly-tipping. Added a link to the code of practice on litter enforcement, in the section 'Penalties and notices'. Removed a link to guidance on fixed penalty notices in the same section.
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We have amended the section ‘Fly-tipping in water’ to clarify the roles of the council and the Environment Agency, and to clarify when the Environment Agency may clear waste from water on council land.
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Changed: "You must remove and dispose of all fly-tipped waste on water and land" to "You must remove and dispose of fly-tipped waste in water"
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First published.