The UK Government is promising ‘Digital Waste Tracking‘ as part of efforts to combat fly tipping. That means, every piece of permitted waste will be followed across the country in real time. Whereas now, waste consignments are tracked using a largely paper based system, the authorities point out.
Such tracking will become mandatory for permitted waste receiving sites in England, Northern Ireland and Wales from October 2026 and Scotland in January 2027. A voluntary beta test for the digital waste tracking service opens on Tuesday, April 28. At Defra (the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Mary Creagh, Minister for Nature, said: “Waste crime is a wicked business and the paper system we inherited was not fit for purpose. Through our Waste Crime Action Plan, we are tightening the net on the waste cowboys. Our Digital Waste Tracking Service will give authorities better, more reliable evidence to go after rogue operators and shut them down. It will also speed paperwork up for legitimate operators and cut red tape at the same time.”
War on waste crime
The Government has declared ‘war on waste crime’. It even launched an ‘action plan’ in March. Defra Secretary of State Emma Reynolds said: “Waste criminals have been damaging our communities, countryside, environment and economy for too long. This Action Plan sends a clear message: dump illegally and you will face the full consequences.ย Waste criminals will be forced to join clean up squads and made to pay for the clearing of illegal waste sites. We will give enforcement officers new police-style powers to bring offenders to justice.โ
Flyโtipping is a criminal offence under section 33 of theย Environmental Protection Act 1990; as for who in authority deals with cases, councils handle smaller loads on public land – private landowners may well have to get rid of tipping themselves – while the Environment Agency deals with the larger, hazardous or organised tipping.
Areas
Councils are faced by piles of waste illegally dumped in locations, urban and rural; whether by residents with too much garden or household waste, or small traders with building or other unwanted material, or by organised criminals dumping on a more industrial scale. Dorset Council recently faced what was described as ‘a serious flyโtipping incident that has caused disruption on a key route’, on the A35. Wiltshire Council is one of many that has turned to video surveillance to capture evidence in known hot-spots for dumping. Ian Thorn, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: “Fly-tipping is a reckless and damaging act that shows complete disregard for our environment and for those who value and respect the landscapes we are all responsible for.”ย
London
In west London, the borough of Ealing began a campaign โThis is our home, not a tipโ, in spring 2025. The council reports more penalty notices being issued; and lately uniformed patrols by Parkguard. The contractor has been working for Ealing since 2013, typically on the protection of parks; the firm is also covering locations based on fly-tip reports. Ealing Council leader Peter Mason said: โWe promised to take tougher action against fly-tipping, and these new patrols show we mean it. People who dump waste illegally force the whole community to pick up the cost. With higher fines, more officers on the ground and better use of CCTV, we are taking firm action to protect our borough and keep our streets clean.โ
Insurance
The insurer Zurich UK reports seeing an increase in occupied premises hit by fly-tipping and squatters illegally occupying commercial premises and disposing of waste. Paul Redington, Regional Major Loss Property Claims Manager at Zurich, says: “Squatters or criminal gangs accessing commercial properties and illegally dumping waste can be hugely disruptive to business as usual and have a knock-on effect to important projects and contracts for many months โ not to mention the serious challenges the waste may pose to human health. Add to this the substantial cost of removal, potentially impacting a companyโs revenue.”
Photo by Mark Rowe: on-street Islington council sign warning against fly tipping, north London.
