Fly-tipping in Harlow council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
2,546 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Harlow in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 25.9 for every 1,000 residents. That is higher than the rate across the councils in England that also count all incidents (21.1) and higher than the rate for those in the East of England (15.6). The council took 862 enforcement actions, including 253 fixed penalty notices and no prosecutions.
Table of Contents
- Fly-tipping in Harlow at a glance, 2024/25
- Where fly-tipping happened in Harlow
- What was fly-tipped in Harlow
- How big the fly-tips were in Harlow
- Fly-tipping enforcement and fines in Harlow
- Fly-tipping in Harlow since 2019/20
- Fly-tipping in East of England councils, 2024/25
- Related pages
- Questions about fly-tipping in Harlow
- About these figures
Among the 267 councils in England that count all incidents, Harlow had the 45th highest rate of fly-tipping per resident in 2024/25. Of the 44 ranked councils in the East of England, it had the 7th highest rate. The count was up 2% on 2023/24 (2,486), against a rise of 9% in Defra's England total.
| Measure | Harlow | East of England (councils counting all incidents) | England (councils counting all incidents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 2,546 | 100,232 | 1,077,530 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 25.9 | 15.6 | 21.1 |
| Share on highways | 3% | 32% | 33% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 8 | 2,877 | 38,558 |
| Enforcement actions per 100 incidents | 33.9 | 43.8 | 42.1 |
| Fixed penalty notices per 100 incidents | 9.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 70 | 1,089 |
The region and England columns add up the 44 councils in the East of England and the 269 councils in England that count all incidents.
Council land accounted for the most incidents in Harlow (1,675, 66%). 3% of incidents were on highways, against 33% across England.
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council land | 1,675 | 65.8% | 18.4% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 579 | 22.7% | 20.7% |
| Back alleyway | 191 | 7.5% | 9.0% |
| Highway | 64 | 2.5% | 33.4% |
| Other or not identified | 27 | 1.1% | 16.2% |
| Watercourse or bank | 5 | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Agricultural land | 4 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 1 | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Private or residential land | 0 | 0.0% | 1.1% |
| Railway | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
The most common kind of waste was other household waste, in 1,219 incidents (48%; England 44%). Relative to England, Harlow had a larger share of other commercial waste (5.1% against 2.9%). Hazardous waste: 11 incidents involved chemical drums, oil and fuel. The waste type was not identified for 12% of incidents.
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other household waste | 1,219 | 47.9% | 43.6% |
| Black bags (household) | 464 | 18.2% | 17.2% |
| Other or not identified | 314 | 12.3% | 15.9% |
| White goods | 131 | 5.1% | 4.7% |
| Other commercial waste | 129 | 5.1% | 2.9% |
| Green waste | 108 | 4.2% | 2.9% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 83 | 3.3% | 5.5% |
| Other electrical items | 36 | 1.4% | 1.7% |
| Vehicle parts | 21 | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 15 | 0.6% | 2.4% |
| Tyres | 15 | 0.6% | 1.1% |
| Chemical drums, oil and fuel | 11 | 0.4% | 0.5% |
24% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 76% were van loads (England 43%). 8 incidents were the size of a tipper lorry load or larger (0.3%; England 3.7%): no tipper lorry loads and 8 significant or multiple loads.
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 14 | 0.5% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 136 | 5.3% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 450 | 17.7% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 1,758 | 69.0% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 180 | 7.1% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 0 | 0.0% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 8 | 0.3% | 1.3% |
The council took 862 enforcement actions against fly-tipping in 2024/25, 33.9 for every 100 incidents (England 42.1, the East of England 43.8). The most common action was investigations (601, 70% of all actions; England 68%). It issued 253 fixed penalty notices (29.4% of its actions; England 8.4%): 239 for fly-tipping itself and 14 for littering alongside fly-tipping.
No prosecutions were recorded. Among the 254 councils ranked on enforcement, Harlow had the 116th lowest rate of actions per 100 incidents and the 31st highest share of fixed penalty notices.
| Action | Number | Per 100 incidents | England per 100 incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigations | 601 | 23.6 | 28.8 |
| Warning letters | 0 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| Statutory notices | 0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Fixed penalty notices | 253 | 9.9 | 3.5 |
| Duty of care inspections | 8 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
| Stop and search | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Vehicles seized | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Formal cautions | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
The chart shows fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 residents in Harlow in each year from 2019/20 to 2024/25, with Defra's England total. The rate was above the England total's in every one of those 6 years. It starts in 2019/20, the first year for which Defra records how each council counts incidents.
| Year | Incidents | Per 1,000 residents | England per 1,000 (Defra total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 2,546 | 25.9 | 21.5 |
| 2023/24 | 2,486 | 25.8 | 19.9 |
| 2022/23 | 2,240 | 23.7 | 19.0 |
| 2021/22 | 2,178 | 23.3 | 19.3 |
| 2020/21 | 2,378 | 27.2 | 20.1 |
| 2019/20 | 2,443 | 28.1 | 17.4 |
Of the 44 councils in the East of England ranked for 2024/25, Great Yarmouth had the highest rate (76.8 per 1,000) and West Suffolk the lowest (1.5). Great Yarmouth's count went from 1,153 in 2023/24 to 7,720 in 2024/25 while England's changed by +9%, a step that may reflect a change in how the council records fly-tipping. Tendring is listed but not ranked: ranks cover only councils that count all incidents, with 100 or more in the year.
| Council | Incidents | Per 1,000 | Actions per 100 incidents | Rank in region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Yarmouth | 7,720 | 76.8 | 35.8 | 1st of 44; count 1,153 in 2023/24 |
| Luton | 11,599 | 48.5 | 2.2 | 2nd of 44 |
| Peterborough | 10,474 | 46.8 | 48.2 | 3rd of 44 |
| Norwich | 5,638 | 38.3 | 2.0 | 4th of 44 |
| Stevenage | 3,058 | 33.3 | 3.2 | 5th of 44 |
| Basildon | 6,220 | 32.1 | 103.7 | 6th of 44 |
| Harlow | 2,546 | 25.9 | 33.9 | 7th of 44 |
| Epping Forest | 3,542 | 25.8 | 13.5 | 8th of 44 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 3,028 | 24.7 | 5.5 | 9th of 44 |
| Colchester | 4,348 | 21.7 | 3.5 | 10th of 44; count 1,962 in 2023/24 |
| Huntingdonshire | 3,560 | 18.7 | 30.3 | 11th of 44 |
| Thurrock | 3,037 | 16.8 | 71.7 | 12th of 44 |
| Brentwood | 1,249 | 15.7 | 104.5 | 13th of 44 |
| Fenland | 1,640 | 15.6 | 54.9 | 14th of 44 |
| Cambridge | 2,166 | 14.5 | 52.4 | 15th of 44 |
| Broxbourne | 1,424 | 14.0 | 108.9 | 16th of 44 |
| Watford | 1,346 | 12.6 | 31.8 | 17th of 44 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 2,214 | 12.0 | 5.9 | 18th of 44 |
| Dacorum | 1,899 | 11.8 | 74.4 | 19th of 44 |
| King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 1,831 | 11.7 | 63.0 | 20th of 44 |
| Castle Point | 978 | 10.8 | 100.0 | 21st of 44 |
| Bedford | 1,988 | 10.2 | 60.0 | 22nd of 44 |
| North Hertfordshire | 1,387 | 10.1 | 46.4 | 23rd of 44 |
| Hertsmere | 1,094 | 9.9 | 71.2 | 24th of 44 |
| Central Bedfordshire | 3,031 | 9.6 | 101.0 | 25th of 44 |
| East Suffolk | 2,155 | 8.6 | 104.8 | 26th of 44 |
| Rochford | 665 | 7.4 | 100.0 | 27th of 44 |
| Broadland | 914 | 6.6 | 1.9 | 28th of 44 |
| St Albans | 919 | 6.1 | 34.2 | 29th of 44 |
| Ipswich | 840 | 6.0 | 90.1 | 30th of 44 |
| Breckland | 830 | 5.7 | 22.7 | 31st of 44 |
| Maldon | 383 | 5.5 | 115.7 | 32nd of 44 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 943 | 5.5 | 106.7 | 33rd of 44 |
| Braintree | 807 | 4.9 | 32.5 | 34th of 44 |
| East Hertfordshire | 761 | 4.9 | 17.1 | 35th of 44 |
| Three Rivers | 455 | 4.7 | 100.9 | 36th of 44 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 441 | 4.7 | 51.0 | 37th of 44 |
| Babergh | 430 | 4.4 | 105.1 | 38th of 44 |
| Mid Suffolk | 443 | 4.0 | 100.2 | 39th of 44 |
| South Norfolk | 567 | 3.8 | 9.2 | 40th of 44 |
| North Norfolk | 385 | 3.7 | 208.1 | 41st of 44 |
| Uttlesford | 351 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 42nd of 44 |
| Chelmsford | 650 | 3.4 | 37.2 | 43rd of 44 |
| West Suffolk | 276 | 1.5 | 308.3 | 44th of 44 |
| Tendring | 495 | 3.2 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
- Fly-tipping in England: every council compared
- Crime statistics for Harlow (police recorded crime, from data.police.uk)
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Harlow in 2024/25?
2,546 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 25.9 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents. In 2023/24 the figure was 2,486.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Harlow?
Harlow council did not report its fixed penalty amount to Defra for 2024/25; councils set it between £150 and £1,000. In 2024/25 it issued 253 fixed penalty notices (239 for fly-tipping itself).
Where does fly-tipping happen in Harlow?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on council land (1,675, 66%), footpaths and bridleways (579, 23%) and back alleyways (191, 8%).
What gets fly-tipped in Harlow?
Other household waste (1,219), black bags (household) (464) and white goods (131) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
Is fly-tipping in Harlow going up?
The count rose from 2,486 in 2023/24 to 2,546 in 2024/25. Recording practice varies between councils and over time, so part of a change can come from how incidents are counted.
How do I report fly-tipping in Harlow?
Report it to the council for Harlow, which clears fly-tipping on public land and investigates it. Large-scale or hazardous dumping can also be reported to the Environment Agency.
Source: Defra, fly-tipping statistics for England, local authority table (published 25 February 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. What is counted, and how councils differ: fly-tipping in England.