Fly-tipping in Somerset council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
2,830 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Somerset in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 4.8 for every 1,000 residents. That is lower than the rate across the councils in England that also count all incidents (21.1) and lower than the rate for those in the South West (9.8). The council took 20 enforcement actions, including 14 fixed penalty notices and no prosecutions.
Table of Contents
- Fly-tipping in Somerset at a glance, 2024/25
- Where fly-tipping happened in Somerset
- What was fly-tipped in Somerset
- How big the fly-tips were in Somerset
- Fly-tipping enforcement and fines in Somerset
- Fly-tipping in South West councils, 2024/25
- Related pages
- Questions about fly-tipping in Somerset
- About these figures
Among the 267 councils in England that count all incidents, Somerset had the 39th lowest rate of fly-tipping per resident in 2024/25. Of the 24 ranked councils in the South West, it had the 4th lowest rate. The count was down 33% on 2023/24 (4,230), against a rise of 9% in Defra's England total.
| Measure | Somerset | South West (councils counting all incidents) | England (councils counting all incidents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 2,830 | 51,229 | 1,077,530 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 4.8 | 9.8 | 21.1 |
| Share on highways | 40% | 54% | 33% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 24 | 841 | 38,558 |
| Enforcement actions per 100 incidents | 0.7 | 22.9 | 42.1 |
| Fixed penalty notices per 100 incidents | 0.5 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 50 | 1,089 |
The region and England columns add up the 25 councils in the South West and the 269 in England that count all incidents. In England, 26 councils that count only some incidents or changed how they count during the year, and 1 with no figure, are left out. The enforcement figures also leave out 4 councils that returned no actions or only part of a year: Isles of Scilly, Cheltenham, Chorley and Liverpool.
Council land accounted for the most incidents in Somerset (1,285, 45%). 40% of incidents were on highways, against 33% across England. 29 were on private or residential land (1.0%; England 1.1%).
Compared with England, a larger share was on watercourses and banks (1.1% against 0.2%).
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council land | 1,285 | 45.4% | 18.4% |
| Highway | 1,142 | 40.4% | 33.4% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 192 | 6.8% | 20.7% |
| Other or not identified | 79 | 2.8% | 16.2% |
| Back alleyway | 32 | 1.1% | 9.0% |
| Watercourse or bank | 30 | 1.1% | 0.2% |
| Private or residential land | 29 | 1.0% | 1.1% |
| Agricultural land | 18 | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 14 | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Railway | 9 | 0.3% | 0.2% |
The most common kind of waste was other household waste, in 950 incidents (34%; England 44%). Relative to England, Somerset had a larger share of tyres (8.0% against 1.1%), chemical drums, oil and fuel (2.6% against 0.5%) and vehicle parts (2.2% against 0.9%). Hazardous waste: 5 incidents involved asbestos, 6 incidents involved clinical waste and 74 incidents involved chemical drums, oil and fuel.
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other household waste | 950 | 33.6% | 43.6% |
| Black bags (household) | 775 | 27.4% | 17.2% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 231 | 8.2% | 5.5% |
| Tyres | 225 | 8.0% | 1.1% |
| White goods | 146 | 5.2% | 4.7% |
| Other or not identified | 114 | 4.0% | 15.9% |
| Green waste | 90 | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| Chemical drums, oil and fuel | 74 | 2.6% | 0.5% |
| Other electrical items | 67 | 2.4% | 1.7% |
| Vehicle parts | 63 | 2.2% | 0.9% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 43 | 1.5% | 2.4% |
| Other commercial waste | 40 | 1.4% | 2.9% |
| Clinical waste | 6 | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Asbestos | 5 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Animal carcasses | 1 | 0.0% | 0.3% |
47% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 52% were van loads (England 43%). 24 incidents were the size of a tipper lorry load or larger (0.9%; England 3.7%): 9 tipper lorry loads and 15 significant or multiple loads.
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 55 | 2.0% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 279 | 10.4% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 930 | 34.6% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 966 | 35.9% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 435 | 16.2% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 9 | 0.3% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 15 | 0.6% | 1.3% |
The council took 20 enforcement actions against fly-tipping in 2024/25, 0.7 for every 100 incidents (England 42.1, the South West 22.9). It issued 14 fixed penalty notices (70.0% of its actions; England 8.4%): 5 for fly-tipping itself, 4 to householders who passed waste to an unlicensed carrier (household duty of care), 1 for littering alongside fly-tipping and 4 of other kinds. The council told Defra that its fixed penalty for fly-tipping is £400, reduced to £250 for early payment.
No prosecutions were recorded. Among the 254 councils ranked on enforcement, Somerset had the 2nd lowest rate of actions per 100 incidents and the 14th highest share of fixed penalty notices.
| Action | Number | Per 100 incidents | England per 100 incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigations | 6 | 0.2 | 28.8 |
| Warning letters | 0 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| Statutory notices | 0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Fixed penalty notices | 14 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
| Duty of care inspections | 0 | 0.0 | 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 |
No longer series is shown for Somerset: comparable figures start in 2023/24 because the council was created in April 2023, so Defra has figures for it only from 2023/24.
Of the 24 councils in the South West ranked for 2024/25, Bristol had the highest rate (20.8 per 1,000) and East Devon the lowest (2.5). Exeter, Isles of Scilly and Wiltshire 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 10,266 | 20.8 | 21.9 | 1st of 24 |
| Plymouth | 5,370 | 19.7 | 25.2 | 2nd of 24 |
| Swindon | 3,759 | 15.4 | 17.5 | 3rd of 24 |
| Forest of Dean | 1,305 | 14.5 | 5.1 | 4th of 24 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 4,966 | 12.1 | 1.4 | 5th of 24 |
| Torbay | 1,556 | 11.1 | 3.7 | 6th of 24 |
| Gloucester | 1,531 | 11.0 | 54.9 | 7th of 24 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 2,057 | 10.3 | 12.9 | 8th of 24 |
| Cotswold | 922 | 10.1 | 9.0 | 9th of 24 |
| North Somerset | 2,226 | 9.9 | 3.2 | 10th of 24 |
| Cheltenham | 1,205 | 9.9 | – | 11th of 24 |
| Stroud | 1,232 | 9.8 | 19.4 | 12th of 24 |
| Teignbridge | 1,051 | 7.6 | 40.6 | 13th of 24 |
| South Hams | 662 | 7.2 | 83.8 | 14th of 24 |
| South Gloucestershire | 2,189 | 7.1 | 27.0 | 15th of 24 |
| Tewkesbury | 695 | 6.8 | 12.9 | 16th of 24 |
| Cornwall | 3,931 | 6.7 | 37.0 | 17th of 24 |
| West Devon | 339 | 5.8 | 78.5 | 18th of 24 |
| Mid Devon | 488 | 5.7 | 13.7 | 19th of 24 |
| North Devon | 574 | 5.7 | 71.3 | 20th of 24 |
| Somerset | 2,830 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 21st of 24 |
| Torridge | 270 | 3.9 | 50.7 | 22nd of 24 |
| Dorset | 1,410 | 3.6 | 82.0 | 23rd of 24 |
| East Devon | 395 | 2.5 | 87.3 | 24th of 24 |
| Exeter | 1,115 | 8.1 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
| Isles of Scilly | 0 | 0.0 | – | Not ranked: too few incidents |
| Wiltshire | 3,005 | 5.7 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
- Fly-tipping in England: every council compared
- Crime statistics for Somerset (police recorded crime, from data.police.uk)
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Somerset in 2024/25?
2,830 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 4.8 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents. In 2023/24 the figure was 4,230.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Somerset?
Somerset council told Defra that its fixed penalty for fly-tipping is £400 (£250 if paid early). In 2024/25 it issued 14 fixed penalty notices (5 for fly-tipping itself).
Where does fly-tipping happen in Somerset?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on council land (1,285, 45%), highways (1,142, 40%) and footpaths and bridleways (192, 7%).
What gets fly-tipped in Somerset?
Other household waste (950), black bags (household) (775) and construction, demolition and excavation waste (231) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
Is fly-tipping in Somerset going up?
The count fell from 4,230 in 2023/24 to 2,830 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 Somerset?
Report it to the council for Somerset, which clears fly-tipping on public land and investigates it. Large-scale or hazardous dumping can also be reported to the Environment Agency.
About these figures: source, Defra, fly-tipping statistics for England, local authority table (published 25 February 2026), gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. An incident is an illegal deposit of waste that a council dealt with or had reported to it, from a single black bag to multiple lorry loads; councils return the figures to Defra through WasteDataFlow each quarter.
Most fly-tipping on private land is cleared by the landowner and is not counted, and the largest and most organised dumping is dealt with by the Environment Agency, which is not included. Since 2019/20 Defra has recorded whether each council counts all incidents or only those reported by the public or found by its own staff. Councils that count only some incidents record fewer, so they, and councils that changed how they count during the year, are not ranked here. Sizes are recorded for the incidents a council investigated and cleared, so they can add up to fewer than all incidents.
Enforcement actions include investigations, warning letters, fixed penalty notices and prosecutions; court fine figures exclude fixed penalty payments. Rates are per resident, so council areas where many people work or visit but few live, such as central London, have high rates for that reason.
Rates use the population in Defra's table (ONS mid-year estimates). Defra's England total includes every council and its estimates for missing returns. On this page the England and region comparisons add up only the councils that count all incidents, and their enforcement figures leave out councils that returned no actions or only part of a year, as the ranks do; the chart's England line is Defra's total.