Preventing fly tipping

Fly tipping, the illegal dumping of waste, can present serious environmental, health, and aesthetic challenges for local authorities and communities. Government Business takes a look at strategies local authorities can implement to prevent fly tipping.

Provide alternative options

Perhaps the best way to prevent flytipping is to actually provide a legal and convenient alternative. Limited access to legal waste disposal sites can contribute to fly tipping.

In order to address this, local authorities should provide convenient and accessible waste disposal options for residents.

Examples of these could include well-maintained recycling centres, rubbish collection points, and hazardous waste collection events. Making legal disposal convenient reduces the incentives for individuals to turn to illegal dumping.

Improve waste collection

Inadequate waste collection services can lead to illegal dumping as residents seek alternative disposal methods.

For example, residents without access to a vehicle, those with reduced mobility or those without a support network, will be unable to take their old fridge to the local recycling centre and will look for other more convenient alternatives, such as paying an unlicensed waste disposal company.

Local authorities should make sure that waste collection services are regular and reliable, and cover all areas within their jurisdiction, especially for large and bulky items that can’t go in the weekly wheely bin collection. Examples of this could include bulky waste collection days, green waste pick-up, and comprehensive recycling programmes.

Raise awareness

Raising awareness among residents about the negative consequences of fly tipping is an important first step. Public awareness campaigns can be initiated through various channels, including social media, community meetings, and educational materials posted through doors. These campaigns should highlight the environmental harm, potential health risks, and legal consequences that can be associated with fly tipping.
    
It is also important to make residents aware of the importance of using licensed waste management companies.

Though they may not be directly responsible for fly-tipping, residents can unwittingly be part of the problem, by paying unlicensed or unscrupulous waste handlers, who then go on to fly tip the waste. Residents should be reminded to check that anyone offering to take away their waste is licensed, to never pay in cash and to take a photo of their waste being taken away including the vehicle’s number plate.

Residents should be made aware of what legal options are available to them, so they don’t turn to the illegal options.

Involve the community

Though more of a clean-up method rather than a prevention method, community involvement is crucial in tackling fly tipping.

Local authorities or community groups can organise clean-up events, workshops, and educational sessions to create a sense of responsibility among residents. Engaging the community fosters a collective ownership of the problem, encourages reporting of suspicious activities, and can help with the clean-up.

Provide clear signage

Installing signage at flytipping hotspots is a simple and relatively cheap way to deter flytipping. Placing clear signage indicating that fly tipping is illegal and that offenders will be prosecuted lets people know that they face legal action for dumping their waste at that site and encourage responsible waste management.

Implement surveillance

Installing surveillance cameras in known fly-tipping hotspots can deter potential dumpers, especially if it is clearly marked. It can also help law enforcement to identify and prosecute offenders, should any flytipping happen. Surveillance cameras can also be used to monitor hotspots and therefore plan timely clean-up efforts. ANPR and AI can also be used to quickly identify perpetrators from their vehicles.

Enforce penalties

Local authorities should make sure to enforce penalties and pursue prosecution for fly tipping to deter potential or repeat offenders. Visible enforcement actions, such as fines, confiscation of vehicles used for dumping, and ultimately prosecution, send the message that illegal dumping will not be tolerated. Good collaboration with law enforcement agencies is essential to ensure that penalties are effectively implemented.

Highlight reporting mechanisms

Establishing easy and accessible channels for reporting fly tipping incidents and making people aware of them encourages residents to play an active role in preventing illegal waste dumping. Consider hotlines, mobile apps, and online reporting forms, which can streamline the process of reporting suspicious activities, helping authorities respond quickly. Publicise these in community forums, on notice boards, through people’s doors and at flytipping hotspots.

Work with local businesses

Local businesses can also help to play a role in preventing fly tipping.

Establish partnerships with local retailers, waste management companies, and construction firms to encourage proper waste disposal practices. Businesses, especially those which create a large amount of bulky waste can help by ensuring they have appropriate waste management contracts and practices in place.

Local licensed waste management companies would likely be thrilled to receive free or low-cost advertising in local community publications and this is essentially free to provide for local authorities.

If the community is aware of the legal options, they are less likely to turn to an illegal one.

Legislation

From the beginning of the year, households no longer have to pay to dispose of small-scale DIY waste at council recycling centres.
    
It is hoped the change will boost recycling and make it easier for people to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner.
    
The fees previously charged by around one-third of local authorities to dispose of DIY waste have been abolished by the government. Now, all councils in England will treat DIY waste the same as other household waste when it meets certain conditions, such as not exceeding 2x 50L rubble bags.
    
Recycling minister Robbie Moore said: “We have delivered on our promise to make it easier and cheaper for people making home improvements to get rid of their waste properly.  
    
“Removing charges for DIY waste at council recycling centres will help New Year home improvement projects become a reality and ensure that those disposing of waste responsibly aren’t being penalised for doing so.”
    
The government has also recently tabled reforms that are intended to increase the reuse and recycling of electrical goods. It is hoped that more options for recycling will lead to a reduction in flytipping.
    
A range of measures have been proposed within the joint UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive consultation for introduction from 2026, including UK-wide collections of waste electricals directly from households – saving the public from having to trek to distant electrical disposal points. The collections would be financed by producers of electrical items, not the taxpayer, and not necessarily require any further bins.
    
Large retailers could roll out collection drop points for electrical items in-store, free of charge, without the need to buy a replacement product and retailers and online sellers would take on responsibility for collecting unwanted or broken large electrical items such as fridges or cookers when delivering a replacement.
    
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is set to work closely with manufacturers, major retailers and small and medium enterprises throughout the consultation period to ensure the most efficient and accessible options become a reality.  
    
Recycling minister Robbie Moore said: “Every year millions of household electricals across the UK end up in the bin rather than being correctly recycled or reused. This is a sheer waste of our natural resources and has to stop.  
    
“We all have a drawer of old tech somewhere that we don’t know what to do with and our proposals will ensure these gadgets are easy to dispose of without the need for a trip to your local tip. Our plans will also drive the move to a more circular economy and create new jobs by making all recycling simpler.”
    
Jacob Hayler, executive director of the Environmental Services Association, said: “Far too many electronic devices currently end up in the bin, so making it simpler and more convenient for householders to recycle waste electricals at home will undoubtedly play a key role in helping our sector return the valuable and rare materials in these devices back to the circular economy.  
    
“On behalf of those operating recycling centres and kerbside collection services, we welcome the opportunity to contribute through consultation and help create an effective system that delivers on its intended outcomes and works, not just for householders, but for obligated producers and retailers too.
    
“Waste electricals and particularly vapes increasingly contain powerful batteries and
are now responsible for hundreds of serious fires every year when not recycled responsibly, so we hope that offering convenient and widespread household collection services
for these devices will also help reverse the growing trend of battery fires blighting the sector.”
    
Preventing, reducing and clearing up fly tipping requires a multifaceted approach that involves different methods and collaboration from different parts of the community. Education, enforcement, community engagement, and service improvement are all important.

By raising awareness, providing more convenient waste disposal options, utilizing surveillance, and promoting community involvement, local authorities can see a reduction in this behaviour.

A combination of these strategies, coupled with clear penalties for offenders, can contribute to cleaner and safer communities while at the same time protecting the environment for future generations. This is one of those prevention is better than cure scenarios. Preventing fly tipping is easier and cheaper than dealing with it once it has happened.