How to prevent fly tipping on your premises and what to do if it does happen
Fly tipping is becoming an increasing concern across the UK. The latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), report 1,082,673[1] incidents of fly tipping reported by local authorities in England alone in the year ending March 2023.[2]
What is fly tipping?
According to the government, fly tipping is the “illegal dumping of liquid or solid waste on land or in water. The waste is usually dumped to avoid disposal costs.”[3]
The most common types of fly tipped waste include household waste, white goods appliances, garden rubbish, vehicle parts, waste from building and demolition work and hazardous substances – such as asbestos and chemicals.[4]
What should I do to prevent fly tippers?
According to Metropolitan Police there are several ways to deter fly tippers from disposing their waste on your property. [5]
Take inventory – Perform a security review of all your properties and land, be it occupied or unoccupied. Identify all assets that you have and think about the best way to protect it from someone dumping waste on it.
Create a perimeter around your property – Identify any places that trespassers can use to enter your property. Typically fly tippers will use a vehicle to transport the waste they are looking to offload. Consider installing heavy duty bollards or a height restrictor to prevent vehicles from entering without permission.
Upgrade your security – Consider installing CCTV cameras around your property and make sure they are out of reach where they can’t be damaged or moved to face elsewhere. Make sure to draw attention to the CCTV by installing appropriate signage in visible locations which can act as a deterrent.
Install sufficient lighting – Now that you have CCTV cameras in situ, make sure that your property has good lighting to illuminate the face of any intruders when caught on camera. You don’t want to find you have a clear view of the fly tipping happening but it’s too dark to make out the faces of the culprits.
What should I do if I find fly tipped waste on my property?
If you discover fly tipping has taken place on your land, you should contact the local authority. They will then decide if they should arrange a visit to access the incident. During this assessment they will gather the following information:
The circumstances including date and time it happened, whether anyone witnessed it and, if known, a description of the vehicles involved.
The location and type of land.
The volume and type of waste.
Whether the waste is harmful to the environment, people or animals.
If the fly tipped waste is large-scale, the Environment Agency may need to investigate. This will also be the case if the waste contains hazardous, or potentially hazardous, waste or if the waste is possibly linked to organised crime.
If the fly tipped waste contains asbestos, you may need to contact the Health and Safety Executive, as well as the Environment Agency, to report it.
Get in touch with Edwards Insurance Brokers
If you’ve fallen victim to fly tippers reach out to Edwards Insurance on 01564 730900.
[1] Haringey named worst in country for dumped white goods – Haringey Community Press
[2] Flytipping_incidents_and_actions_taken__reported_by_LAs_in_England__2012-13_to_2022-23_accessible_revised.ods (live.com)
[3] Fly-tipping: council responsibilities – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[4] A guide to fly-tipping – Noble Solicitors
[5] Make life difficult for fly tippers and squatters | Crime Prevention | Metropolitan Police
