Fly tipping on private land is a very common occurrence throughout the UK. Sadly, the land owner becomes responsible for the clean-up costs and these can run into many thousands of £pounds.
The numbers are frightening. In 2020-21 there were over a million fly tipping incidents which represented an increase of 16% from the previous year. The actual clean up costs are more than £1bn per annum and part of those costs have to be absorbed by land owners who are left to pay the clean-up costs when rubbish is dumped on their land.
Where fly tipping is discovered on public land, then the Local Council is responsible for investigating, clearing the waste and taking appropriate enforcement action when possible. Larger scale fly tipping (lorry loads) are the responsibility of the Environment Agency.
Farmers and land owners should check that they have a good insurance policy in place to take care of the huge costs that are often associated with the clearance of fly tipping wastes.
The numbers:
| Source: DEFRA | Fixed Penalty Notices issued specifically for fly-tipping | Fixed Penalty Notices issued for Household Duty of Care | Littering Fixed Penalty Notices issued in conjunction with fly-tipping | All Other Fixed Penalty Notices issued | Total Fixed Penalty Notices |
| 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 | 14,198 | 1,689 | 27,974 | 13,760 | 57,621 |
Action taken:
| Source: DEFRA | Total Actions | Investigation | Warning Letter | Duty of Care Inspection | Statutory Notice | Fixed Penalty Notice | Stop and Search | Prosecution | Formal Caution | Injunction | Vehicles seized |
| 2007/08 | 503,662 | 276,773 | 122,546 | 41,769 | 33,332 | 23,575 | 2,032 | 2,209 | 1,423 | 3 | : |
| 2008/09 | 524,796 | 274,168 | 128,506 | 54,240 | 39,372 | 22,240 | 2,323 | 1,995 | 1,946 | 6 | : |
| 2009/10 | 537,123 | 298,254 | 116,554 | 51,179 | 37,191 | 25,874 | 3,542 | 2,457 | 2,067 | 5 | : |
| 2010/11 | 568,052 | 275,687 | 139,118 | 62,624 | 47,276 | 32,963 | 5,689 | 2,409 | 1,847 | 385 | : |
| 2011/12 | 489,815 | 253,030 | 84,505 | 52,016 | 49,990 | 39,314 | 4,479 | 2,796 | 3,585 | 4 | : |
| 2012/13 | 425,235 | 231,022 | 71,962 | 47,506 | 32,445 | 35,433 | 3,373 | 2,170 | 863 | 416 | 45 |
| 2013/14 | 499,563 | 299,536 | 65,164 | 47,746 | 45,093 | 36,835 | 2,323 | 2,002 | 765 | 14 | 85 |
| 2014/15 | 514,914 | 314,962 | 74,642 | 45,165 | 37,966 | 38,149 | 1,339 | 1,810 | 807 | 3 | 71 |
| 2015/16 | 494,528 | 314,900 | 70,434 | 43,765 | 24,973 | 35,888 | 1,098 | 2,203 | 1,127 | 11 | 129 |
| 2016/17 | 475,784 | 306,601 | 47,384 | 38,979 | 21,918 | 57,271 | 357 | 1,571 | 1,504 | 2 | 197 |
| 2017/18 | 494,926 | 314,092 | 46,758 | 38,813 | 21,675 | 68,905 | 846 | 2,243 | 1,454 | 3 | 137 |
| 2018/19 | 500,725 | 313,870 | 46,746 | 38,831 | 19,608 | 76,963 | 799 | 2,401 | 1,298 | 2 | 207 |
| 2019/20 | 474,066 | 295,904 | 43,094 | 36,110 | 18,679 | 75,445 | 746 | 2,945 | 722 | 3 | 418 |
| 2020/21 | 455,577 | 315,698 | 43,251 | 19,719 | 15,001 | 57,621 | 652 | 1,412 | 1,886 | 2 | 335 |
The costs:
| Source: DEFRA | Clearance Cost | Enforcement Cost |
| 2007/08 | £63,660,866 | £17,520,948 |
| 2008/09 | £54,966,562 | £18,310,392 |
| 2009/10 | £45,778,579 | £19,094,665 |
| 2010/11 | £41,276,026 | £20,647,763 |
| 2011/12 | £37,411,597 | £17,669,650 |
| 2012/13 | £36,585,739 | £15,208,741 |
| 2013/14 | £45,407,171 | £17,328,577 |
| 2014/15 | £50,732,983 | £17,607,676 |
| 2015/16 | £50,015,488 | £16,908,788 |
| 2016/17 | £57,966,874 | £16,073,682 |
| 2017/18 | : | : |
| 2018/19 | : | : |
| 2019/20 | : | : |
| 2020/21 | : | : |
