“It’s bad, just not as bad” says environment charity boss as fly-tipping incidents still top one million

Today’s fly-tipping figures, published by Defra, show a four per cent decrease from the all-time high reported for 2020-21, with figures still topping over million environment-wrecking incidents.

This new, reduced number is perhaps because the previous figures were affected by the impacts of lock-downs in 2020, when bulky waste collections were cancelled and millions of us were decluttering and DIY-ing while stuck at home.

While any decrease is to be warmly welcomed, with incidents still exceeding one million, there is clearly still a lot of work to do with the public to stem the tide.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, said: “A million plus fly-tipping incidents is a tragedy for the environment and communities and illustrates just how little people understand about the impact their unwanted ‘stuff’ can have.

“It’s bad, just not as bad. We know that we can and must turn the tide on this – Keep Britain Tidy’s work in some areas has led to reductions in fly-tipping of up to 72% - but we need a concerted effort at every level to educate the public about their role in solving this problem. We need immediate and tough enforcement that targets the rogue traders who are making a fortune by breaking the law, raking in the cash and wrecking our environment.”