Fly-tipping is a specific criminal offence in England, not just an environmental nuisance, and how you report it depends on the scale of what has been dumped.

What counts as fly-tipping in law

Under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is an offence to deposit controlled waste on land without an environmental permit authorising it, to have it treated or disposed of at an unpermitted site, or to treat, keep or dispose of it in a way likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health. That covers everything from a single dumped mattress to organised, large-scale illegal dumping — the legal test is about the unauthorised deposit itself, not the size of the pile.

The penalties

The Act sets tiered penalties depending on how the case is prosecuted. For the general offence, summary conviction (in a magistrates’ court) can bring imprisonment up to the general limit for a magistrates’ court or a fine, while conviction on indictment (in the Crown Court) can bring up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine. A separate, lower band applies specifically to household waste offences within the curtilage of a dwelling: up to three months’ imprisonment or the statutory maximum fine on summary conviction, or up to two years on indictment. A defendant can avoid conviction by proving they took all reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence, or that they acted in a genuine emergency and notified the proper authority afterwards.

Who to report to, and when

Gov.uk’s fly-tipping reporting guidance splits reporting by scale:

• Small-scale fly-tipping — several bin bags, one or two pieces of furniture, small commercial loads, or garden waste — should be reported to the environmental health team at your local council.
• Large-scale dumping — a lorryload (20 tonnes) or more of tipped or buried waste, hazardous or industrial waste, or organised criminal waste operations — should go to the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline (0800 80 70 60) or to Crimestoppers (0800 555 111), which also takes anonymous reports.

Reporting to the right body matters: councils handle the everyday clean-up caseload, while the Environment Agency and police pursue the larger, often organised, criminal operations.

If it happens on land you own

If waste is illegally dumped on your own property, responsibility for disposing of it properly falls to you as the landowner, and gov.uk’s guidance notes that non-compliance can carry its own fine. This can feel unfair when you did not cause the dumping, but it is the reason acting quickly — reporting it, documenting it with photographs, and arranging lawful removal — matters, rather than leaving it in place.

Your own liability if you hand waste to the wrong person

Fly-tipping is not only committed by strangers dumping waste on your land. If you pay someone to take rubbish away and they fly-tip it instead, the trail leads back to whoever produced the waste. This is exactly the duty of care question covered in our guide to waste carrier licences: checking a carrier’s registration before you hand anything over is your main protection against being drawn into someone else’s fly-tipping offence.

How to report step by step

1. Do not move or disturb the waste if you suspect it may be hazardous, or if a prosecution may depend on the scene being left intact.
2. Photograph the waste and its location, and note the date and time.
3. Assess the scale against the small-scale/large-scale distinction above.
4. Report to your council’s environmental health team (small-scale) or the Environment Agency hotline / Crimestoppers (large-scale, hazardous, or organised dumping).
5. If it is on your own land, arrange lawful removal through a checked, registered carrier once it is safe and appropriate to do so.

FAQs

Do I need to know who dumped the waste before reporting it?

No — report what you can see and where, including any details like vehicle descriptions if you witnessed the dumping. Investigators build the case from there.

Is fly-tipping on my own land still a police matter?

It can be, particularly for larger or hazardous dumping, but the practical first step for most household-scale incidents is your council’s environmental health team.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 10 September 2026:

• legislation.gov.uk: Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 33
• gov.uk: Report fly-tipping
• gov.uk: Managing your waste — an overview (duty of care)

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