Fly-tipping fines in England

Fly-tipping is an offence under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. A council can offer a fixed penalty notice instead of prosecuting. Each council sets the amount, between £150 and £5,000. If it sets none, the amount is £200, and it may accept at least £120 for early payment.

The £5,000 maximum came in on 1 September 2026. Before that it was £1,000.

Councils and the police can also seize a vehicle they believe was used for fly-tipping, without a warrant. If no one claims it, it can be sold or destroyed.

You have a duty of care for your household waste. If you give it to someone who isn’t allowed to take it and it’s dumped, the council can fine you between £150 and £600, even though you didn’t dump it. Book through scrapmarket and the checks are done for you. Your duty of care explained.

• Councils in England dealt with 1.26 million fly-tips in 2024/25, up 9% on 2023/24.
• 62% of them, about 777,000, involved household waste.
• Councils issued 69,000 fixed penalty notices, up 9%.
• Courts handed out 1,250 fines, worth £673,000 in total.

Report it to the council for the area where it is, using GOV.UK’s report fly-tipping service. Don’t touch it, as it may be hazardous, and don’t confront anyone. Note the place, the time, what was dumped and any vehicle registration.

• We check the collector’s waste carrier licence on the Environment Agency register before they can quote, and again every night. If it lapses, they can’t quote.
• We check their insurance, and their photo ID against a selfie.
• When they collect, they record their van’s registration and the licensed site your waste is going to.
• Your waste transfer note is made for you when you confirm the collection, and kept in your account.
• We pay the collector only once we’ve reviewed proof that your waste got to that site.
• If your waste is ever fly-tipped anyway, we’ll report the collector to the Environment Agency and the council, and cover any fine. Here’s how that works.