Network Rail unveiled an installation at King’s Cross station to show the impact of fly-tipping on the railway. A structure, in place for Tuesday, March 18, to mark Global Recycling Day, was made from items most commonly fly-tipped such as white goods, mattresses and electrical items. Besides the likes of cable theft and graffiti, fly-tipping is classified as a form of railway vandalism, says Network Rail, the body that looks after railtrack.
Jo Lewington, Network Rail’s chief environment and sustainability officer, said: “Fly-tipping wreaks havoc on our railways and environment, stopping passengers getting where they need to be on time and wrecking wildlife habitats. Network Rail works closely with local authorities to prevent this crime and prosecute those responsible. If you see someone fly-tipping, it’s imperative you report this to your local council, Crimestoppers or the British Transport Police – by working together we can help protect the environment and limit the impact of this selfish act.”
One Poll surveyed for Network Rail during February 2025 a nationally representative sample of 2,000 British adults; the findings included that a good fifth (23 per cent) of Brits don’t know fly-tipping is a crime you can be fined or prosecuted for. A good half (55pc) of those surveyed did not realise fly-tipping causes transport delays. As Network Rail point out, waste can attract rats that chew on cables leading to signal failures, and even accidents, while metal cans and foil can cause short circuits in railway signalling equipment.
Visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/litter-and-fly-tipping/.
The latest statistics from the Department for the Environment (Defra) on fly-tipping incidents as recorded by local government in England, for April 2023 to March 2024, shows that local authorities in England dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents, an increase of 6pc from the 1.08 million reported in 2022-23. The most common place for fly-tipping to occur was on highways (pavements and roads). Despite that rise, councils carried out 528,000 enforcement actions in 2023-24, a slight decrease from the 530,000 the previous year. Likewise the number of fixed penalty notices issued, and the total number of court fines for the most serious offences, fell.
While the Defra figures show that the average waste dumped is equivalent to a ‘small van load’, or a ‘car boot or less’, some dumping is on an industrial scale, as a court case in Lincolnshire recently shows. Separately, some 15 tonnes of dumped rubbish was removed from a section of road that leads to the A47 at South Brink, Wisbech in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Fenland District Council said it has taken 21 reports of fly tips in the area in the last six months. Attempts were made to clear rubbish on each occasion, but it wasn’t always possible to get full access to clear everything. The council has put up a soil bund to make vehicle access more difficult.
Bradford Council reports that it’s the only council in Yorkshire to enforce litter from vehicles offences and was shortlisted in the Keep Britain Tidy Awards under the Excellence in Enforcement category for this work. So far 39 cameras have been installed to catch littering motorists and a total of 4,478 fines issued. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence and can result in an unlimited fine or up to five years in prison. The council can prosecute or issue fixed penalty fines, in Bradford set at £400.
Bradford’s Environmental Enforcement Team, working with the Police’s Operation Steerside Team, can also seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping offences. Bradford councillor Sarah Ferriby, Portfolio Holder for Healthy People and Places, said: “We are working hard to maintain a clean and attractive environment, especially when a global spotlight is on our District in our City of Culture Year but also beyond this, so that we can all take pride in it.
“But we need everyone’s help in reporting incidents of littering and fly-tipping. If you see something, whether it’s fly-tipping, someone throwing litter from a vehicle or general littering, please report it. Action will be taken. Anyone thinking of fly-tipping is warned they will be fined or prosecuted. Using one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres is free if you live in our district.”
Fly-tipping is an urban and rural problem alike. An urban example is Rugby Borough Council taking two men to court over dumping of commercial waste on the high street from a town centre supermarket. Among rural comment, Tim Bonner, chief exec of the Countryside Alliance said: “The issue will just not go away despite successive governments promising crackdowns and legislating. After campaigning by the Countryside Alliance fines that can be issued for littering and fly tipping under fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were increased in 2023, but worryingly the number of prosecutions and FPNs is now falling as the number of fly-tipping incidents rises.” He noted that it seems culturally acceptable to drop litter: “Littering is rife as anyone who checks the verges as they drive around the countryside at this time of year can see. The casual dropping of litter surely legitimises more extensive dumping of rubbish.”
Photo, courtesy of Network Rail: Fly tipping clearance at Heyrod near Stalybridge, 2021.
