Fly-tipping in Merton council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
14,883 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Merton in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 68.1 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 London (56.9). The council took 9,502 enforcement actions, including 1,306 fixed penalty notices and no prosecutions.
Table of Contents
- Fly-tipping in Merton at a glance, 2024/25
- Where fly-tipping happened in Merton
- What was fly-tipped in Merton
- How big the fly-tips were in Merton
- Fly-tipping enforcement and fines in Merton
- Fly-tipping in Merton since 2019/20
- Fly-tipping in London councils, 2024/25
- Related pages
- Questions about fly-tipping in Merton
- About these figures
Among the 267 councils in England that count all incidents, Merton had the 10th highest rate of fly-tipping per resident in 2024/25. Of the 25 ranked councils in London, it had the 8th highest rate. The count was down 8% on 2023/24 (16,116), against a rise of 9% in Defra's England total.
| Measure | Merton | London (councils counting all incidents) | England (councils counting all incidents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 14,883 | 371,409 | 1,077,530 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 68.1 | 56.9 | 21.1 |
| Share on highways | 86% | 29% | 33% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 1,500 | 10,999 | 38,558 |
| Enforcement actions per 100 incidents | 63.8 | 38.7 | 42.1 |
| Fixed penalty notices per 100 incidents | 8.8 | 5.6 | 3.5 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 21 | 1,089 |
The region and England columns add up the 25 councils in London and the 269 councils in England that count all incidents.
Highways accounted for the most incidents in Merton: 12,858, or 86% (England 33%). Compared with England, a larger share was on commercial or industrial land (0.6% against 0.3%).
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway | 12,858 | 86.4% | 33.4% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 1,433 | 9.6% | 20.7% |
| Council land | 259 | 1.7% | 18.4% |
| Back alleyway | 212 | 1.4% | 9.0% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 92 | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Watercourse or bank | 23 | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Agricultural land | 6 | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Other or not identified | 0 | 0.0% | 16.2% |
| 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 6,431 incidents (43%; England 44%). Relative to England, Merton had a larger share of construction, demolition and excavation waste (19.2% against 5.5%), green waste (7.4% against 2.9%) and other commercial waste (6.6% against 2.9%). Hazardous waste: 14 incidents involved chemical drums, oil and fuel. Tyres were dumped in 231 incidents.
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other household waste | 6,431 | 43.2% | 43.6% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 2,862 | 19.2% | 5.5% |
| Black bags (household) | 2,119 | 14.2% | 17.2% |
| Green waste | 1,106 | 7.4% | 2.9% |
| Other commercial waste | 979 | 6.6% | 2.9% |
| Other electrical items | 329 | 2.2% | 1.7% |
| White goods | 298 | 2.0% | 4.7% |
| Other or not identified | 231 | 1.6% | 15.9% |
| Tyres | 231 | 1.6% | 1.1% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 194 | 1.3% | 2.4% |
| Vehicle parts | 89 | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| Chemical drums, oil and fuel | 14 | 0.1% | 0.5% |
60% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 30% were van loads (England 43%). 1,500 incidents were the size of a tipper lorry load or larger (10.1%; England 3.7%): 227 tipper lorry loads and 1,273 significant or multiple loads.
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 937 | 6.3% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 3,214 | 21.6% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 4,825 | 32.4% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 3,859 | 25.9% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 548 | 3.7% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 227 | 1.5% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 1,273 | 8.6% | 1.3% |
The council took 9,502 enforcement actions against fly-tipping in 2024/25, 63.8 for every 100 incidents (England 42.1, London 38.7). The most common action was investigations (4,012, 42% of all actions; England 68%). It issued 1,306 fixed penalty notices (13.7% of its actions; England 8.4%): 531 for fly-tipping itself, 731 for littering alongside fly-tipping and 44 of other kinds.
The council told Defra that its fixed penalty for fly-tipping is £400. No prosecutions were recorded. Among the 254 councils ranked on enforcement, Merton had the 95th highest rate of actions per 100 incidents and the 56th highest share of fixed penalty notices.
| Action | Number | Per 100 incidents | England per 100 incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigations | 4,012 | 27.0 | 28.8 |
| Warning letters | 3,995 | 26.8 | 5.5 |
| Statutory notices | 27 | 0.2 | 1.7 |
| Fixed penalty notices | 1,306 | 8.8 | 3.5 |
| Duty of care inspections | 155 | 1.0 | 2.5 |
| Stop and search | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Vehicles seized | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Formal cautions | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
The chart shows fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 residents in Merton 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 | 14,883 | 68.1 | 21.5 |
| 2023/24 | 16,116 | 74.2 | 19.9 |
| 2022/23 | 17,914 | 83.4 | 19.0 |
| 2021/22 | 17,714 | 82.2 | 19.3 |
| 2020/21 | 15,857 | 76.8 | 20.1 |
| 2019/20 | 13,047 | 63.2 | 17.4 |
Of the 25 councils in London ranked for 2024/25, Camden had the highest rate (166.9 per 1,000) and Kingston upon Thames the lowest (13.8). Ealing, Enfield, Islington, Lambeth, Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Wandsworth are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | 36,216 | 166.9 | 104.7 | 1st of 25 |
| Croydon | 53,268 | 130.1 | 0.3 | 2nd of 25 |
| Hackney | 31,042 | 116.4 | 8.2 | 3rd of 25 |
| Lewisham | 33,471 | 111.1 | 9.5 | 4th of 25 |
| City of London | 1,655 | 109.5 | 197.7 | 5th of 25 |
| Westminster | 20,047 | 95.5 | 39.7 | 6th of 25 |
| Hounslow | 25,177 | 84.1 | 1.5 | 7th of 25 |
| Merton | 14,883 | 68.1 | 63.8 | 8th of 25 |
| Haringey | 16,915 | 64.1 | 14.1 | 9th of 25 |
| Southwark | 18,530 | 58.9 | 23.0 | 10th of 25 |
| Greenwich | 16,638 | 55.5 | 10.0 | 11th of 25 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 7,613 | 52.7 | 129.6 | 12th of 25 |
| Harrow | 13,925 | 51.4 | 19.8 | 13th of 25 |
| Brent | 16,338 | 46.3 | 138.2 | 14th of 25 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 8,087 | 42.9 | 109.8 | 15th of 25 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 7,617 | 32.7 | 2.1 | 16th of 25 |
| Hillingdon | 9,846 | 29.9 | 2.4 | 17th of 25 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 5,611 | 28.5 | 35.5 | 18th of 25 |
| Bromley | 6,981 | 20.8 | 5.1 | 19th of 25 |
| Tower Hamlets | 6,029 | 18.2 | 225.5 | 20th of 25 |
| Sutton | 3,873 | 18.1 | 11.9 | 21st of 25 |
| Barnet | 6,938 | 17.1 | 12.8 | 22nd of 25 |
| Havering | 4,532 | 16.4 | 149.2 | 23rd of 25 |
| Bexley | 3,787 | 14.8 | 16.6 | 24th of 25 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 2,390 | 13.8 | 57.5 | 25th of 25 |
| Ealing | 25,394 | 65.8 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Enfield | 9,218 | 28.2 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Islington | 3,330 | 14.9 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only; count 1,347 in 2023/24 |
| Lambeth | 21,220 | 67.0 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Newham | 26,502 | 70.8 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Redbridge | 8,189 | 25.5 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Waltham Forest | 10,246 | 36.6 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Wandsworth | 5,580 | 16.5 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
- Fly-tipping in England: every council compared
- Crime statistics for Merton (police recorded crime, from data.police.uk)
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Merton in 2024/25?
14,883 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 68.1 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents. In 2023/24 the figure was 16,116.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Merton?
Merton council told Defra that its fixed penalty for fly-tipping is £400. In 2024/25 it issued 1,306 fixed penalty notices (531 for fly-tipping itself).
Where does fly-tipping happen in Merton?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on highways (12,858, 86%), footpaths and bridleways (1,433, 10%) and council land (259, 2%).
What gets fly-tipped in Merton?
Other household waste (6,431), construction, demolition and excavation waste (2,862) and black bags (household) (2,119) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
Is fly-tipping in Merton going up?
The count fell from 16,116 in 2023/24 to 14,883 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 Merton?
Report it to the council for Merton, 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.