Fly-tipping is an issue that has plagued the UK for numerous years, but despite measures being put in place to try and prevent it, the quota of reported cases is rising with new criminal gangs running a crime network to dump and collect waste on forbidden land.
Recent government data shows a 6% increase in fly-tipping incidents in 2023/24, with over 1.15 million cases reported. The Environment Agency (EA), which oversees waste regulation in England, is working with local authorities and the police to tackle this issue. Phil Davies, head of the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, emphasized “the situation is getting out of control and we’re at a point now where criminal gangs are destroying not only the economy, but the environment as well.”
Organised criminal groups are increasingly infiltrating the waste industry, causing significant harm to the environment, according to the EA, Illegal waste dumping costs the UK £1 billion annually, with large-scale tipping sites emerging in the Southeast. Experts warn this isn’t just random fly-tipping but a coordinated criminal effort involving networks that collect and dump waste illegally.
Gillingham North councillor, Lia Mandaracas, explained to me last that “measures are being implemented from cameras to watch groups across the council and county in general to try and combat the issue.”
Mrs Mandaracas says she has seen “some” improvement in trial runs of cameras in hot spots but feels as though other changes such as being “stricter on fines”, could result in less re-offenders.
Keep Britain tidy is a national fly-tipping prevention group, and a spokesperson told me that “action must be taken to stop these hooligans from killing our environment.” Keep Britain Tidy is constructed by multiple groups who attempt to combat fly-tipping through advertising and action and called the revelation of these recent fly-tipping statistics, “devastating.”