In our experience, a building that is unoccupied and improperly secured can quickly become a target for fly tipping. We respond to fly tipping on three fronts.

We respond to fly tipping on three fronts

We clean and clear properties at the beginning of a contract, create barriers to public access of open areas of a site, and improve the outward appearance of the property to deter interest from those who target vacant buildings. Once our live-in guardians are on-site, they are continually around the premises and report any illegal dumping immediately to us so that waste removal can be arranged.

Acting swiftly prevents any further fly tipping and keeps the situation from escalating – something that commonly happens when buildings are insufficiently guarded. This has proven to be a very effective way of reducing the risk of fly tipping.

The risk of fly tipping increases when properties appear unoccupied and open areas in a site are left unmaintained. Open sites without significant habitable structures are particularly at risk. 

Some unscrupulous and criminal waste removal firms will choose to dump their waste in unprotected sites rather than pay the tip fees for the proper disposal of waste. Many tons of waste can be dumped in this way, leaving an expensive clearance for the landlord once the waste is discovered. 

If mobile homes are brought onto a site so that those dumping waste are demonstrating possession of the site the landlord can have to go to court to gain a possession order before they can clear the site. During the time it takes to get a possession order the build-up of fly-tipped waste can be enormous. In one such case Oaksure were called to a site where 190 tons of waste had been dumped prior to the landlord regaining possession of their site.

Construction waste, abandoned vehicles, old and unwanted furniture and clothing are common waste that is fly tipped.

For the 2019/20 year, local authorities in England dealt with just under 1 million (976,000) fly-tipping incidents, an increase of 2% from the 957,000 reported in 2018/19.

The most common size category for fly-tipping incidents in 2019/20 was equivalent to a ‘small van load’ (34% of total incidents), followed by the equivalent of a ‘car boot or less’ (28%).

In 2019/20, 33,000 or 3% of total incidents were of ‘tipper lorry load’ size or larger, which is a decrease of 8% from 36,000 in 2018/19. For these large fly-tipping incidents, the cost of clearance to local authorities in England in 2019/20 was £10.9 million, compared with £12.8 million in 2018/19.

Source: (2021) Fly Tipping Statistics for England, Defra, Government Statistical Service.