Wandsworth Council is trying new ways to crack down on fly-tipping as part of Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight.
The two-week campaign run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy encourages communities and councils to take action to tackle the illegal dumping of waste.
Wandsworth will trial a variety of measures including painting temporary warning stencils at fly-tipping hotspots after the rubbish has been cleared.
Councillor Ethan Brooks, cabinet member for the environment, said: “Most residents take pride in keeping their neighbourhoods clean, and it is unfair that a small minority continue to blight our streets through fly-tipping.
“We are determined to use every tool available to prevent it.”
During the fortnight, the council will share examples on social media of people who have been caught and fined for fly-tipping.
It also plans to increase the number of enforcement officers and develop a borough-wide strategy covering prevention, faster clearance and targets to reduce fly-tipping.
Wandsworth Council says its main street-cleaning contract costs around £4 million a year and includes the removal of small fly-tips.
The plans come amid a national crackdown on waste crime. In August, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the Government would involve the National Crime Agency in tackling organised waste crime and use the Proceeds of Crime Act to make offenders pay for clean-up costs.
Keep Britain Tidy says around 38% of incidents are linked to unlicensed operators, including rogue traders who advertise cheap rubbish removal services on social media before illegally dumping the waste.
There were 1.26 million recorded fly-tipping incidents in England in 2024/25, a 9% increase on the previous year.
London had a higher rate of illegal dumping. It recorded an average of 53 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024/5 compared with 21 per 1,000 across England, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
In 2024, Wandsworth recorded the highest number of fly-tipping incidents of any London borough.
The council says it will continue to take action against persistent offenders.
Featured image credit: Wandsworth Council Press Office
Join the discussion