Fly-tipping: Organised crime behind large rise
Published 13 February, 2020
In February 2020 the BBC Shared Data Unit reported that organised criminal gangs were being blamed for the continued rise of large fly-tipping incidents across England.
We compared official statistics on flytipping over several years, analysing the scale and cost of major fly-tipping incidents across England.
Our analysis found:
- The number of incidents of large-scale fly-tipping had more than doubled since 2012.
- Police and environmental groups said the nature of fly-tipping was changing - a shift driven by a surge in criminal gangs offering illegal waste clearing services.
- Since the 2012-13 financial year, councils in England had spent just over £59m clearing large scale tips. The bill for such incidents was at its highest in 2018-19.
- Tipper lorry loads accounted for just over 125,000 of the total number of major incidents, while “significant/multi-loads” were recorded for just under 67,000 major incidents.
This piece of content was produced by a regional newspaper reporter working alongside BBC staff.
The Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association. Stories generated by the partnership included:
- Bristol Live: The thousands spent clearing up mounds of fly-tipping dumped in Berkshire by criminal gangs 13 February 2020
- Bromsgrove Advertiser: Organised criminal gangs are dumping lorry-loads of rubbish 13 February 2020
- The Comet: North Hertfordshire records 34 per cent spike in fly-tipping offences 13 February 2020
- Chichester Observer: Large-scale fly-tipping on the rise in West Sussex – and ‘rogue traders’ are to blame 13 February 2020
- Chronicle Live: More than £13,000 paid in fines by fly-tippers and waste dumpers in South Tyneside 13 February 2020
- Gloucestershire Live: Criminal gangs are behind a fly-tipping epidemic in Gloucestershire 13 February 2020
- Llanelli Online: Carmarthenshire records highest cost for dealing with fly tipping 13 February 2020
- North Norfolk News: Call to dump DIY waste charge amid record fly tipping in part of Norfolk 13 February 2020
- Northamptonshire Telegraph: Kettering major fly-tipping clearance costs rocket 13 February 2020
- Peterborough Telegraph: Criminal gangs dump hundreds of lorry-load fly-tips in Peterborough 13 February 2020
- Portsmouth News: Local councils have spent almost £300,000 on major fly-tips since 2012, new figures show 13 February 2020
- Romford Recorder: Revealed: Large scale fly-tipping incidents cost Havering Council more than £43,000 last year 13 February 2020
- Shields Gazette: Six-figure cost to South Tyneside taxpayers of clearing up after fly-tippers is revealed 13 February 2020
- Sunderland Echo: 'No excuses for fly tipping in Sunderland' as near million-pound cost to taxpayers is revealed 13 February 2020
- Wilts and Gloustershire Standard: Organised criminal gangs are dumping lorry-loads of rubbish 13 February 2020
- Worthing Herald: Six-figure cost of empty business units in Worthing, Adur and Arun revealed 13 February 2020
- Yorkshire Post: Criminals are fly-tipping lorryfuls of waste in Yorkshire - and it's costing us half a million each year 13 February 2020
- Berkshire Live: The thousands spent clearing up mounds of fly-tipping dumped in Berkshire by criminal gangs 14 February 2020
- Express and Star: Gangs dump lorry loads of rubbish as figures reveal fly-tipping frenzy 14 February 2020
- Eastern Daily Press: Responsibility falls on homeowners to cut flytipping "at its very source" 14 February 2020
- Harrogate Advertiser: Large scale fly tipping in Harrogate triples in 8 years - costing the taxpayer almost £30,000 14 February 2020
- Liverpool Echo: Criminal gangs behind rise in 'new narcotics' blighting our streets 14 February 2020
- Nantwich News: Fly-tipping: the full cost to Cheshire East taxpayers 14 February 2020
- Northampton Chronicle: Northampton Borough Council pays out nearly £100,000 in flytipping clean-up fees 14 February 2020
- Rochdale News: Major fly-tipping rates in Rochdale one of highest in country last year 14 February 2020
- Great Yarmouth Mercury: Responsibility falls on homeowners to cut flytipping "at its very source" 15 February 2020
- Scarbrough News: Large-scale fly tipping in Scarborough borough doubles in eight years - costing the taxpayer thousands 14 February 2020
- Lancaster and Morecambe Citizen: Fly-tipping rises sharply as 'gangs dump industrial quantities of waste' 17 February 2020
- Lancashire Telegraph: Fly-tipping rises sharply in Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn 17 February 2020
- Pontefract and Castleford Express: Councils are counting the cost of organised criminal flytipping gangs 21 February 2020
- Wakefield Express: Councils are counting the cost of organised criminal flytipping gangs 21 February 2020
- Evesham Journal: Costs of fly-tipping in Dudley revealed 24 February 2020
- Brent and Kilburn Times: Mass rubbish dumping in Alperton is a 'criminal act' says council 25 February 2020
- Essex County Standard: Colchester Council spent £620k cleaning up flytipping 25 February 2020
- Halesowen News: Costs of fly-tipping in Dudley revealed 25 February 2020
- Ham & High: Fly-tipping: Camden's spending nearly doubles to £791,000 in 2018-19 26 February 2020
The story was also used by BBC Breakfast television, BBC News at One, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 2 - Jeremy Vine
Visualisation
- Embedded digital video: Tackling the fly-tippers who dump by the truckload
- Line chart: The rising cost of large fly-tipping to English councils 2012-19
- Map: Clean-ups of a lorry-load or more in each English district per 10,000 people 2018-19