Volume of fly-tipping 'abominable', says councillor

The volume of fly-tipping a council has had to deal with in a three-month period was "abominable" in the last year, a councillor has said.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) reported it had cleared about 4,500 fly-tipping incidents between October and December 2024.

The authority increased fines for environmental crimes in February, with the highest penalty being up to £1,000.

Councillor Rebecca Breese, cabinet member for environment, recycling, and waste, said it was "abominable and astonishing" that the council had to remove thousands of fly-tips, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

When waste is illegally dumped on public land, the responsibility falls on the local authority to clear the rubbish and pay for all associated costs.

WNC had cleared 4,579 fly-tips during the three months, down from 5,248 for the same period the previous year.

Although fly-tipping incidents in the council's area had reduced, the authority said it had received more call-outs.

More than 200 fixed penalty notices for environmental crime, including illegally dumped waste, were issued by the authority.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, (LDRS), Councillor Wendy Randall, leader of the Labour group, said fly-tipping had increased in the area, and the council had not "done anything to change that".

WNC increased fines for fly-tipping from £400 up to £1,000 earlier this year.

Adam Brown, Conservative councillor and leader of the council, told the LDRS: "We should all be united in our condemnation of that behaviour because it is really a blight on our towns and our countryside."

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