
Fly-tipping and the law
Madeleine Clarke - 27 January 2025
On 20 January, Lichfield residents discovered a giant heap of rubbish blocking a country road just outside the small Staffordshire city, blocking off homes and businesses. Wilshee’s Waste and Recycling, the company that cleared the mess, stated that this was the largest fly-tipping incident the company had handled in 30 years. Reports on the size of the pile of waste varied from 15mto 80ft (24.38m) long. Local business owners were left down in the dumps as the fly-tipping incident made their properties inaccessible to customers and therefore dramatically reduced trade.
According to local authorities, evidence discovered within the rubbish heap points to the identity of the culprits. They also reckon that this was a planned incident; an HGV tipper truck was spotted in the area at the time and is thought to be responsible.
Fly-tipping can be prosecuted under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. If convicted in the magistrates’ court, a person can face an unlimited fine or twelve months in prison, and the case could even be passed on to the Crown Court for a harsher sentence. Here, the maximum penalty is five years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. Vehicles used for fly-tipping can be confiscated by the police, the Environment Agency or other relevant authorities and perpetrators may also have to pay other fines, legal costs and compensation.
But what’s the legal definition of fly-tipping and how does it differ from littering? The Metropolitan Police’s website states that “general littering includes the dumping of household rubbish, either in plastic bags or as individual items. It also includes dog fouling in public places.” In comparison, fly-tipping is the “illegal dumping of large items or waste on public roads, land or into rivers. This could include large household appliances like washing machines or discarded materials from construction sites.”
Large electrical items and industrial materials can be expensive to dispose of legally, so some individuals and businesses decide to save a bit of cash by fly-tipping. However, it’s nature that ultimately pays the price, as dumped waste can leach chemicals and other pollutants into the water and soil, harming both local wildlife and public health. To put things into perspective, local authorities in England recorded more than one million incidents of fly-tipping between 2022 and 2023. 4% of these were “tipper lorry load” size or larger, compared to 31% being a “small van load” and 27% being a “car boot or less.” 40% of incidents occurred on pavements and roads.