Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy today launches Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight, a national campaign urging the public to protect themselves and their communities from waste criminals, who lure people in with cheap rubbish removal deals on social media, only to illegally dump household waste in our streets, fields and public spaces.
New consumer research reveals that households are unknowingly fuelling the problem by failing to carry out basic checks when hiring someone to collect their rubbish.
According to the YouGov survey, less than half of respondents (46%) were aware they should check for a licence when hiring someone to take away rubbish and of those who were aware, only 13% have ever done so. Almost half (42%) of those who considered hiring someone to remove waste said they simply ‘trusted’ an operator based on their advert, while 19% said they used someone because they were recommended without checking their credentials
Meanwhile, the problem of fly-tipping is escalating rapidly. According to new research carried out by the charity with local authorities, almost three quarters (70%) say fly-tipping is now a ‘major problem’, more than half (56%) report that the issue has grown in the past year and a staggering 40% of fly-tips are now reported to be left by rogue traders rather than individuals.
Nationally, more than 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents were reported in 2023-24 by councils. With estimated costs to landowners and council tax-payers ranging from £100 million to £150 million for clearance and investigation, fly-tipping diverts significant funds away from vital services like schools, social care and parks.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight campaign aims to educate people about how to avoid falling for a #RubbishDeal. Featuring real-life CCTV footage supplied by local authorities, the campaign exposes rogue ‘house clearance’ merchants being caught in the act of dumping large quantities of household rubbish in fields, alleyways and lay-bys.
Keep Britain Tidy is urging anyone getting rid of stuff they no longer want to take three simple steps to avoid falling for a #RubbishDeal that leaves them, their community and their council paying the price.
- Ask for a waste carrier registration number
- Check it on the Environment Agency’s public register at (visit https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers or call 0300 065 3000)
- Check you’ll get a receipt
Dr. Anna Scott, Director of Services at Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Fly-tipping is a #RubbishDeal for all of us. For the public, for councils, for communities and for the environment. That cheap deal on Facebook or WhatsApp may look like a bargain, but it’s a false economy and it’s you and your community that end up paying the price.
“Fly-tipping isn’t just unsightly, it’s often linked to organised criminal networks making millions of pounds by exploiting gaps in enforcement and undercutting legitimate businesses. It’s a serious criminal offence, and we all have a part to play in stopping it. People need to know that they are responsible for what happens to their own waste, even if they’ve hired someone else to take it away. By doing simple checks and getting a receipt, people can protect themselves, protect their neighbourhoods and ensure public money does not have to spent on clearing up after criminals.”
Further findings of the consumer poll include:
- Worsening community impact: More than a third of people (38%) say fly-tipping has increased in the past year and 61% say they feel angry when they see people’s old stuff dumped in their local area
- Out of sight, out of mind. Only 1 in 3 (34%) would ask for a receipt or proof of the service when paying someone to remove their rubbish, and less than a quarter (23%) would check where items will be taken and how they will be disposed of.
- Confusion over legal ‘duty of care’: Almost half of households (47%) believe the person they hired is responsible if rubbish is dumped illegally, while only one in five (19%) correctly understand that they remain legally responsible as the owner of the items.
- Strong support for solutions: 86% of people said they would back schemes requiring retailers to collect old bulky items like sofas or mattresses when delivering new ones, helping to cut fly-tipping at the source.
Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight will run nationwide from 10th – 23rd November, with local authorities across the country joining forces with Keep Britain Tidy to shine a spotlight on waste crime and share practical advice to help consumers avoid a #RubbishDeal.
To find out more, visit www.keepbritaintidy.org/fight-fly-tipping