New government guidance outlines how offenders’ vehicles should be searched, seized and destroyed.
New guidance issued today will help local authorities crack down on waste crime, as new statistics reveal there were 1.26 million incidents of fly-tipping last year.
For the first time, government guidance will advise local authorities how to seize and crush vehicles used to dump waste.
The new guidance will provide the first comprehensive overview for councils, offering clear instructions on identifying, seizing, and disposing of vehicles involved in fly-tipping, as well as advice on taking cases to court and securing convictions against vehicle owners.
To strengthen deterrence, councils are expected to name and shame those involved on social media, while also sharing images and videos of their vehicles being crushed. The guidance offers suggestions for maximising engagement and awareness of council enforcement on social media, including repurposing seized vehicles for use to clean up other incidents of fly-tipping.
Overt and covert surveillance techniques, such as CCTV, drones and Automatic Number Plate Recognition should also be deployed to catch criminals in the act.
We are empowering local authorities to clamp down on waste cowboys and restore pride in our local areas.
I share the public’s fury at seeing our streets, parks and fields used as dumping grounds. Fly-tippers should know – if you use your van to trash our countryside, don’t be surprised when it ends up on the scrapheap.
This government is investing in cutting-edge technology and boosting Environment Agency funding to put more waste crime officers on the ground, while introducing tougher checks and penalties for those who break the law.
Councils across England already have powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping, with figures published today showing 139 were seized by enforcement officers from 41 councils in 2024/25. New case studies of councils seizing vehicles as part of enforcement activity against fly-tipping and organised waste crime, alongside instructions on how to conduct successful vehicle seizure operations, will set a model for local authorities to follow.
The new guidance also calls on local authorities to share intelligence with the police, the Environment Agency and National Trading Standards to build cases and run joint operations.
Today’s announcement follows the publication of new statistics on fly-tipping incidents across England. Statistics show that local authorities carried out 572,000 enforcement actions in 2024/25, an increase of 8% from 530,000 in 2023/24. These actions included issuing fixed penalty notices, 69,000 of which were issued in 2024/25 – an increase of 9% from 63,000 in 2023/24.
The government is making around £78 billion available to council budgets in England this year as part of the first multi-year funding settlement in over a decade to help fund key responsibilities like fly-tipping.
Convicted fly-tippers can receive a significant fine, a community sentence or even a prison sentence. Money raised from fly-tipping funds is ring-fenced by councils to clean up land impacted by waste dumping.
One success story is in the London Borough of Croydon, where the local council used its powers against George Smith, a repeat offender responsible for multiple fly-tipping incidents across London and Surrey. Smith trawled around neighbourhoods and building sites looking for waste, then posed as a legitimate operator to offer illegal clearance and disposal services.
Following a detailed investigation, Smith received a 52-week prison sentence. Three of his vehicles were seized and destroyed. The council also released CCTV footage of his activities, which was widely shared, exposing the scale of his offending and sending a clear message about the consequences for those who choose to flout the law.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/councils-urged-to-crush-more-fly-tippers-vehicles