New Report Calls for Stronger Action on Fly-Tipping and Waste Crime

A new report from the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN) and Future Countryside has warned that fly-tipping and wider waste crime have become a significant and growing challenge, calling for reforms to improve enforcement, reporting and accountability.

The report, Breaking the Cycle: Tackling Fly-Tipping and Waste Crime – A Roadmap for Reform, highlights official figures showing that local authorities in England dealt with more than 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents during 2024/25. However, the authors argue that the true scale of the problem is likely to be considerably higher, as incidents on private land, large-scale illegal dumping investigated by the Environment Agency, and unreported cases are not fully captured in national statistics.

Among the report's findings are concerns about low investigation and prosecution rates, with only around 31% of incidents investigated and just 13 custodial sentences issued for fly-tipping offences in England during 2024/25. The report also highlights evidence that organised criminal gangs are increasingly involved in waste crime, exploiting weaknesses in regulation and enforcement, while farmers, landowners and rural businesses are often left to bear significant clean-up costs.

The report makes 18 recommendations, including the creation of a comprehensive national waste crime dataset, a single reporting route for incidents, stronger regulation of waste carriers, improved intelligence sharing between agencies, and measures to ensure victims are not left bearing the cost of criminal activity.

The authors argue that tackling waste crime will require stronger national leadership, more consistent enforcement and greater coordination between local authorities, the Environment Agency and police forces. The report comes as policymakers continue to examine the issue through the Government's Waste Crime Action Plan and an ongoing House of Lords inquiry.

Read the full report here.