Recommendation 26

Local authorities reported 1.1 million incidents of fly-tipping during 2020–21 to Defra.91 However, Defra recognises that some local authorities provide incomplete figures, and that coverage of fly-tipping on private sector land is not good enough.92 Other stakeholders made similar points more strongly: written evidence from academics stated that “Waste crime on private land is overlooked” while evidence from the National Farmers Union (NFU) said that better reporting and recording of waste crime on private land “is urgently needed” due to a substantial number of unrecorded incidents.93 Recorded fly-tipping is high in urban areas: Hackney recorded 13,600 incidents in 2020–21, while Sandwell recorded 10,300.94 But it is also a serious issue in rural areas: the NFU estimates that fly-tipping is a widespread problem that will affect two-thirds of farmers. In addition, the NFU reports 82 Q 89 83 Q 6 84 Q 81 85 Environment Agency, Waste Crime Summary Data to 2020/21 86 C&AG’s Report, Figure 7; Environment Agency, Waste Crime Summary Data to 2020/21 87 Q 81 88 GWC0003 (ESA) 89 Q 46 90 Biffa fined £1.5 million for ‘reckless’ export breach - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 91 C&AG’s Report, para 1.14 92 Qq 2, 41; C&AG’s Report, para 1.14 93 GWC0001 (Farrell, Dixon and Tilley); GWC0004 (NFU England and Wales) 94 Qq 30, 33, 43; Defra, ENV24 – Fly tipping incidents and actions taken in England, statistical dataset, December 2021 18 Government actions to combat waste crime hearing from its members about an increase in large scale fly-tipping involving multiple vehicles in a short space of time.95 It is the responsibility of the landowner to remove waste fly-tipped on private land.96 The NFU told us that costs can run from hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds to deal with and remove fly-tipped waste, while protective measures both cost money to install and increase farmers’ workload.97