Illegally dumping waste or rubbish is a common problem – with many residents often calling on the Council to do more about it, or to do more to prevent it.

The Government has released fly tipping statistics for England for April 2020 to March 2021.

NOTE: The Dartford statistics in this story have been updated - with full details and information here.

For the 2020/21 year, local authorities in England dealt with 1.13 million fly-tipping incidents, an increase of 16 per cent from the 980,000 reported in 2019/20.

Local authorities carried out 456,000 enforcement actions in 2020/21, a decrease of 18,000 actions (four per cent) from 474,000 in 2019/20.

The number of fixed penalty notices issued was 57,600 in 2020/21, a decrease of 24 per cent from 75,400 in 2019/20.

This is the second most common action after investigations and accounted for 13 per cent of all actions in 2020/21.

Here, we can reveal how many fly tipping incidents took place in each south east London borough in the given time period.

We have included how many of these were highway incidents, how many incidents were actioned, and how many fixed penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping in the same period.

Bexley

Total incidents: 5,684

Of these, 4,841 were highway incidents.

In 2020-2021, no fly tipping incidents were actioned.

No fixed penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping.

Bromley

Total incidents: 3,575

Of these, 3,208 were highway incidents.

In 2020-2021, 187 fly tipping incidents were actioned.

No fixed penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping.

A Bromley Council spokesperson said: “Flytipping can be a dangerous blot which sadly we see far to often and which is why we are tackling with this with resident help and support, including our successful we’re watching you campaign, also targeting known hot-spot areas as well. 

"Bromley actually has a relatively low number of flytipping incidents when compared to elsewhere, with the Borough having the 7th lowest number of flytips compared to other boroughs and the 3rd lowest when compared with population size. 

"Whilst prosecution is a last resort, anyone is tempted to flytip should know that we will not hesitate to prosecute and do investigate incidents. 

"As well as reporting flytipping, residents are also reminded the Council continues to operate a enviro-crime reward scheme, with up to £500 available for information leading to successful prosecutions. 

"Details available by visiting www.bromley.gov.uk/envirocrime.”

Dartford

Total incidents: 3,474

Of these, 1,838 were highway incidents.

In 2020-2021, 194 fly tipping incidents were actioned.

42 fixed penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping.

Greenwich

Total incidents: 4,376

Of these, 500 were highway incidents.

In 2020-2021, 1,170 fly tipping incidents were actioned.

121 penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping.

Lambeth

Total incidents: 5,040

Of these, 226 were highway incidents.

In 2020-2021, 1,720 fly tipping incidents were actioned.

818 fixed penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping.

Lewisham

Total incidents: 4,294

Of these, 3,366 were highway incidents.

In 2020-2021, 1,375 fly tipping incidents were actioned.

94 fixed penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping.

In August 2021, Lewisham Council launched a new environmental crime enforcement team to take action against fly tipping.

Between August and December 2021, it issued over 1,000 fixed penalty notices for environmental offences, including 369 fixed penalty notices for fly tipping – a significant increase compared to previous years. 

It also secured a successful prosecution in September 2021 after a skip company was caught dumping asbestos in a residential street, resulting in a £3,000 fine.

The Cleaner Lewisham campaign works with residents and businesses to ensure they know how to dispose of their rubbish responsibly and prevent fly tipping in the borough.

Cllr Patrick Codd, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We are working hard to clamp down on fly tipping and create a Cleaner Lewisham.

"There is no excuse for dumping rubbish illegally and we are taking action against those who break the rules, handing out more fines and prosecuting where appropriate.

“We know the vast majority of residents and businesses want to do the right thing, so we are working with them to ensure they know how to dispose of their rubbish responsibly and help keep the borough clean.”

Southwark

Total incidents: 21,386

Of these, one was a highway incident.

In 2020-2021, 287 fly tipping incidents were actioned.

22 fixed penalty notices were issued specifically for fly tipping.

We have asked each Council how it is working to prevent or reduce fly tipping, and how it is working to ensure more people who do commit the offence are fined.

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