Fly-tipping hits new levels in South East
Councils dealt with 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents in 2024/2025
Farmers in the South East say they are under siege as fly-tipping reaches record highs.
New figures show that councils managed 1.26 million fly-tipping cases in 2024/2025, marking a nine per cent increase from the previous year.
These statistics, however, only account for waste dumped on public lands and reported to authorities, leaving incidents on privately-owned land unaccounted for.
Farmers are now calling for tougher penalties as they experience considerable difficulty as illegal dumpers transform farmland into unofficial rubbish dumps.
The area faced 109,015 incidents, an increase of 7.2% over the year.
These are the areas with some of the biggest increases:
- Berkshire, up 26% to 9,672
- Crawley, up 20.6%
- Eastbourne, up 53.6%
- Lewes, up 27.5%
- Reading, up 70.9%
- Slough, up 94%
- Runnymede, up 21.4%
- Woking, up 32%
- Cherwell, up 21%.
Despite the rise in incidents, fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping in the South East fell by 35% to 1,478.
Tim Bamford, the regional director for the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), voiced frustrations over the ongoing issue.
According to Bamford, "Farmers and land managers are increasingly being targeted by organised crime gangs – often violent – who know that rural areas are under-policed and resourced."
He highlighted that the illegal waste, including hazardous materials like asbestos, poses dangers to wildlife, livestock, and the environment, and yet farmers are left to bear clean-up costs themselves.
Among recent cases, the dumping of 30,000 tonnes of waste in Kent’s Hoad's Wood and 20,000 tonnes next to the River Cherwell represent alarming examples of illegal waste disposal.
The CLA is advocating for several measures, such as appointing a national fly-tipping commissioner to coordinate efforts and benchmark enforcement.
They urge for stricter penalties for businesses and homeowners whose waste is found dumped and call for a permit scheme to allow farmers to dispose of waste at no charge.
A CLA survey revealed that almost three-quarters of farmers face fly-tipping annually, with costs averaging £1,000 per incident.
Many have resorted to enhancing security with CCTV and lighting to counteract this persistent problem.
Colin Rayner, whose family farm in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey, said: “We have been experiencing ongoing fly-tipping every week, highlighting the persistent nature of the problem and the need for urgent action.
“Fly-tipping is out of control in the countryside. We wake up to loads of rubbish in the field or farm gateways. From car tyres to household waste, hazardous waste is often found.
“Our public footpaths that cross our fields are another source of unsightly littering. Our verges are used to dump garden waste and abandon white goods and even dead dogs.
“We just clear up the fly-tipping waste and bear the high disposal costs at the registered landfill site, which significantly impact our farm's finances. My team must litter pick the footpaths weekly, adding to our ongoing expenses.”