Overview
- Defra’s 2024/25 figures show a 9% annual rise to 1.26 million incidents, with 62% involving household waste.
- Large dumps are growing: about 52,000 cases were tipper‑lorry size or bigger, costing councils an estimated £19.3 million to clear.
- Enforcement actions rose to 572,000 and fixed‑penalty notices to 69,000, but court fines fell to 1,250 and successful prosecutions remain rare.
- Despite new guidance, on‑the‑ground capacity is limited, with only 139 vehicles seized by 41 councils last year and many authorities citing legal and cost barriers.
- London remains the worst‑affected region, with Croydon recording about 53,268 incidents, while farmers warn many private‑land cases go unrecorded and back calls for stronger, better‑resourced enforcement including boosted Environment Agency funding to £15.6 million and wider use of surveillance.