New £1,000 fines introduced for serious fly-tipping in Milton Keynes
The new penalties range from £400 to £1,000 depending on the scale of the offence
Fly-tippers in Milton Keynes can now face fines of up to £1,000 under a tougher penalty system introduced by Milton Keynes City Council.
The new three-tier system came into force on September 1, with the size and seriousness of an offence determining the level of Fixed Penalty Notice.
Previously, someone dumping a single item could receive the same £400 fine as someone responsible for a vanload of rubbish.
Under the new system, smaller incidents, including single items and smaller amounts of household waste, will carry a £400 fine.
Larger household waste deposits, including transit van loads and small amounts of commercial waste, will carry a £600 penalty.
The most serious incidents, including multiple items, tipper loads and larger commercial fly-tipping offences, can result in a £1,000 fine.
Cllr Kerrie Bradburn, Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste, Highways and Transport, said the new system would ensure penalties better reflect the scale of an offence.
“We have to recognise that fly-tipping is a crime. It blights our communities, it damages our environment. So I think it’s absolutely fair and proportionate that we have a scaled system,” she said.
The changes form part of the council’s Tackling Fly Tipping Action Plan 2026-2031, which also focuses on repeat offenders, fly-tipping hotspots and increased enforcement.
The council says reports of fly-tipping have fallen by almost 27% in Milton Keynes since its first action plan was introduced in 2021.
Cllr Bradburn said the council was “not resting on our laurels” while fly-tipping remained an issue for residents.
“It’s important that we continue that good work and I think these new mechanisms will go more of a way to even reduce it further,” she said.
The £1,000 Fixed Penalty Notice is not the maximum penalty someone could face. Cllr Bradburn said serious offences could be prosecuted, with courts able to impose fines running into the tens of thousands of pounds and potentially prison sentences.
The Cabinet Member for Environment added: “We want to make it very clear that if you fly-tip, we will gather evidence against you, we will prosecute you, we will issue you with a fixed penalty notice because it's a blight on our city and it's terrible for our environment.”