Fly-tipping in Rugby council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
4,488 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Rugby in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 36.7 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 West Midlands (15.5). The council took 727 enforcement actions, including 23 fixed penalty notices and no prosecutions.
Table of Contents
Among the 267 councils in England that count all incidents, Rugby had the 30th highest rate of fly-tipping per resident in 2024/25. Of the 27 ranked councils in the West Midlands, it had the highest rate. No change on the year is given: the count went from 1,952 in 2023/24 to 4,488 in 2024/25 while England's changed by +9%; a step that large (more than double or less than half England's change) is treated here as a change in how the council records fly-tipping, so earlier years are not compared.
| Measure | Rugby | West Midlands (councils counting all incidents) | England (councils counting all incidents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 4,488 | 73,999 | 1,077,530 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 36.7 | 15.5 | 21.1 |
| Share on highways | 24% | 45% | 33% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 113 | 2,750 | 38,558 |
| Enforcement actions per 100 incidents | 16.2 | 40.2 | 42.1 |
| Fixed penalty notices per 100 incidents | 0.5 | 3.9 | 3.5 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 13 | 1,089 |
The region and England columns add up the 27 councils in the West Midlands and the 269 councils in England that count all incidents.
24% of incidents were on highways, against 33% across England. 20 were on private or residential land (0.4%; England 1.1%). Compared with England, a larger share was on agricultural land (0.5% against 0.3%). The council did not identify the land type for 66% of incidents.
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other or not identified | 2,944 | 65.6% | 16.2% |
| Highway | 1,061 | 23.6% | 33.4% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 172 | 3.8% | 20.7% |
| Back alleyway | 128 | 2.9% | 9.0% |
| Council land | 103 | 2.3% | 18.4% |
| Agricultural land | 22 | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 20 | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Private or residential land | 20 | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| Watercourse or bank | 18 | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Railway | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
The most common kind of waste was other household waste, in 494 incidents (11%; England 44%). Hazardous waste: 16 incidents involved asbestos and 27 incidents involved chemical drums, oil and fuel. Tyres were dumped in 38 incidents. The waste type was not identified for 70% of incidents.
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other or not identified | 3,148 | 70.1% | 15.9% |
| Other household waste | 494 | 11.0% | 43.6% |
| Black bags (household) | 260 | 5.8% | 17.2% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 182 | 4.1% | 5.5% |
| White goods | 104 | 2.3% | 4.7% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 57 | 1.3% | 2.4% |
| Green waste | 48 | 1.1% | 2.9% |
| Tyres | 38 | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| Vehicle parts | 37 | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Other electrical items | 36 | 0.8% | 1.7% |
| Chemical drums, oil and fuel | 27 | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| Other commercial waste | 24 | 0.5% | 2.9% |
| Animal carcasses | 17 | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Asbestos | 16 | 0.4% | 0.3% |
Size is recorded for the incidents the council investigated and cleared: 1,503 of the 4,488 (33%). 32% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 60% were van loads (England 43%).
113 incidents were the size of a tipper lorry load or larger (7.5%; England 3.7%): 68 tipper lorry loads and 45 significant or multiple loads.
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 47 | 3.1% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 172 | 11.4% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 264 | 17.6% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 588 | 39.1% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 319 | 21.2% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 68 | 4.5% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 45 | 3.0% | 1.3% |
The council took 727 enforcement actions against fly-tipping in 2024/25, 16.2 for every 100 incidents (England 42.1, the West Midlands 40.2). The most common action was duty of care inspections (322, 44% of all actions; England 6%). It issued 23 fixed penalty notices (3.2% of its actions; England 8.4%): 4 for fly-tipping itself, 3 to householders who passed waste to an unlicensed carrier (household duty of care), 2 for littering alongside fly-tipping and 14 of other kinds.
No prosecutions were recorded. Among the 254 councils ranked on enforcement, Rugby had the 75th lowest rate of actions per 100 incidents and the 106th lowest share of fixed penalty notices.
| Action | Number | Per 100 incidents | England per 100 incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigations | 281 | 6.3 | 28.8 |
| Warning letters | 90 | 2.0 | 5.5 |
| Statutory notices | 10 | 0.2 | 1.7 |
| Fixed penalty notices | 23 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
| Duty of care inspections | 322 | 7.2 | 2.5 |
| Stop and search | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Vehicles seized | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Formal cautions | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
Of the 27 councils in the West Midlands ranked for 2024/25, Rugby had the highest rate (36.7 per 1,000) and Stafford the lowest (3.2). Birmingham, Lichfield and Newcastle-under-Lyme 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby | 4,488 | 36.7 | 16.2 | 1st of 27; count 1,952 in 2023/24 |
| Sandwell | 12,542 | 35.4 | 4.3 | 2nd of 27 |
| Telford and Wrekin | 5,811 | 29.7 | 45.9 | 3rd of 27 |
| Redditch | 2,255 | 25.7 | 45.0 | 4th of 27 |
| Walsall | 6,604 | 22.3 | 9.1 | 5th of 27 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 5,893 | 21.8 | 87.2 | 6th of 27 |
| Tamworth | 1,589 | 19.6 | 99.1 | 7th of 27 |
| Coventry | 7,188 | 19.5 | 122.6 | 8th of 27 |
| Solihull | 3,998 | 18.1 | 5.5 | 9th of 27 |
| Warwick | 2,724 | 17.6 | 18.8 | 10th of 27 |
| Bromsgrove | 1,591 | 15.6 | 20.0 | 11th of 27 |
| North Warwickshire | 1,020 | 15.2 | 5.5 | 12th of 27 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | 2,141 | 15.1 | 31.7 | 13th of 27 |
| Wolverhampton | 3,336 | 11.9 | 64.6 | 14th of 27 |
| East Staffordshire | 1,460 | 11.3 | 15.3 | 15th of 27 |
| South Staffordshire | 1,171 | 10.2 | 5.3 | 16th of 27 |
| Dudley | 3,303 | 10.0 | 16.3 | 17th of 27 |
| Wyre Forest | 831 | 8.0 | 21.4 | 18th of 27 |
| Wychavon | 948 | 6.9 | 0.9 | 19th of 27 |
| Shropshire | 1,734 | 5.2 | 64.6 | 20th of 27 |
| Worcester | 512 | 4.8 | 74.2 | 21st of 27 |
| Cannock Chase | 482 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 22nd of 27 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | 397 | 4.1 | 112.3 | 23rd of 27 |
| Herefordshire | 708 | 3.7 | 137.9 | 24th of 27 |
| Malvern Hills | 298 | 3.6 | 39.6 | 25th of 27 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 523 | 3.6 | 101.1 | 26th of 27 |
| Stafford | 452 | 3.2 | 31.6 | 27th of 27 |
| Birmingham | 24,664 | 20.8 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Lichfield | 552 | 4.9 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 840 | 6.6 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
- Fly-tipping in England: every council compared
- Crime statistics for Rugby (police recorded crime, from data.police.uk)
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Rugby in 2024/25?
4,488 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 36.7 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Rugby?
Rugby 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 23 fixed penalty notices (4 for fly-tipping itself).
Where does fly-tipping happen in Rugby?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on highways (1,061, 24%), footpaths and bridleways (172, 4%) and back alleyways (128, 3%).
What gets fly-tipped in Rugby?
Other household waste (494), black bags (household) (260) and construction, demolition and excavation waste (182) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
How do I report fly-tipping in Rugby?
Report it to the council for Rugby, 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.