Local authority recorded fly-tipping: April 2020 to March 2021

This period covers the main period of restrictions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Care should be taken in comparing the 2020-21 results with previous years since it is not clear which effects are short term because of the pandemic and which are longer term.

Care should be taken when interpreting these figures due to ongoing changes and improvements in data reporting mechanisms and associated guidance.

More information can be found in the quality report.

Main points

• 41,071 fly-tipping incidents were reported in Wales. This is 22.5% more than the previous year, and is similar to the number of reported incidents in 2010-11(a).
• Annual change in the number of fly-tipping incidents varied across Wales. 6 local authorities reported a decrease and 16 local authorities reported an increase.
• The largest annual increases were in Wrexham, Denbighshire, Conwy and Flintshire (154%, 78%, 63% and 55% respectively). This was partly due to improved reporting mechanisms in Wrexham and Conwy and the challenges presented by the COVID-19 restrictions in Denbighshire and Flintshire.
• The largest annual decrease in fly-tipping incidents was in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion (15% and 14% respectively).
• 73% of incidents involved household waste (black bag or other household waste).
• Fly-tipping clearance in Wales was estimated to cost £2.14 million(b).
• 25,045 enforcement actions were taken; the lowest number of enforcement actions to be taken since 2015-16.
• Of the 18 prosecution outcomes, 94% resulted in a fine.

(a) Following clarification of guidance documentation on fly tipping in 2017, side waste (excess waste placed next to a bin) are no longer reported as fly tipping incidents.
(b) Estimated clearance costs are based on the number of incidents broken down by size. This information is not recorded for all incidents. In 2020-21, size information was provided for 94% of incidents.

Background information

The statistics are based on the returns made by local authorities to the Waste Data Flow database. Although some are recorded, the statistics do not cover all fly-tipping incidents on private land, and not all incidents of fly-tipping will be reported to the local authority.