Fly-tipping in Stockton-on-Tees council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
2,432 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Stockton-on-Tees in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 11.8 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 North East (23.3). The council took 1,039 enforcement actions, including no fixed penalty notices and no prosecutions.
Table of Contents
- Fly-tipping in Stockton-on-Tees at a glance, 2024/25
- Where fly-tipping happened in Stockton-on-Tees
- What was fly-tipped in Stockton-on-Tees
- How big the fly-tips were in Stockton-on-Tees
- Fly-tipping enforcement and fines in Stockton-on-Tees
- Fly-tipping in Stockton-on-Tees since 2021/22
- Fly-tipping in North East councils, 2024/25
- Related pages
- Questions about fly-tipping in Stockton-on-Tees
- About these figures
Among the 267 councils in England that count all incidents, Stockton-on-Tees had the 131st highest rate of fly-tipping per resident in 2024/25. Of the 11 ranked councils in the North East, it had the 3rd lowest rate. The count was up 9% on 2023/24 (2,235), against a rise of 9% in Defra's England total.
| Measure | Stockton-on-Tees | North East (councils counting all incidents) | England (councils counting all incidents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 2,432 | 62,000 | 1,077,530 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 11.8 | 23.3 | 21.1 |
| Share on highways | 2% | 6% | 33% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 372 | 3,389 | 38,558 |
| Enforcement actions per 100 incidents | 42.7 | 33.5 | 42.1 |
| Fixed penalty notices per 100 incidents | 0.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 174 | 1,089 |
The region and England columns add up the 11 councils in the North East and the 269 councils in England that count all incidents.
Council land accounted for the most incidents in Stockton-on-Tees (1,778, 73%). 2% of incidents were on highways, against 33% across England. Compared with England, a larger share was on back alleyways (16.4% against 9.0%).
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council land | 1,778 | 73.1% | 18.4% |
| Back alleyway | 399 | 16.4% | 9.0% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 164 | 6.7% | 20.7% |
| Highway | 38 | 1.6% | 33.4% |
| Agricultural land | 17 | 0.7% | 0.3% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 16 | 0.7% | 0.3% |
| Watercourse or bank | 10 | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Other or not identified | 7 | 0.3% | 16.2% |
| Railway | 3 | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Private or residential land | 0 | 0.0% | 1.1% |
The most common kind of waste was other household waste, in 1,336 incidents (55%; England 44%). Relative to England, Stockton-on-Tees had a larger share of construction, demolition and excavation waste (12.8% against 5.5%) and chemical drums, oil and fuel (1.0% against 0.5%). Hazardous waste: 7 incidents involved asbestos, 5 incidents involved clinical waste and 25 incidents involved chemical drums, oil and fuel. Tyres were dumped in 35 incidents.
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other household waste | 1,336 | 54.9% | 43.6% |
| Black bags (household) | 578 | 23.8% | 17.2% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 311 | 12.8% | 5.5% |
| Green waste | 98 | 4.0% | 2.9% |
| Tyres | 35 | 1.4% | 1.1% |
| Vehicle parts | 26 | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| Chemical drums, oil and fuel | 25 | 1.0% | 0.5% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 8 | 0.3% | 2.4% |
| Asbestos | 7 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Clinical waste | 5 | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Animal carcasses | 2 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Other commercial waste | 1 | 0.0% | 2.9% |
36% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 49% were van loads (England 43%). 372 incidents were the size of a tipper lorry load or larger (15.3%; England 3.7%): 345 tipper lorry loads and 27 significant or multiple loads.
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 134 | 5.5% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 362 | 14.9% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 372 | 15.3% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 577 | 23.7% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 615 | 25.3% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 345 | 14.2% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 27 | 1.1% | 1.3% |
The council took 1,039 enforcement actions against fly-tipping in 2024/25, 42.7 for every 100 incidents (England 42.1, the North East 33.5). The most common action was investigations (1,039, 100% of all actions; England 68%). It issued no fixed penalty notices.
No prosecutions were recorded. Among the 254 councils ranked on enforcement, Stockton-on-Tees had the 119th highest rate of actions per 100 incidents and the joint lowest (level with 20 other councils, listed on the England page) share of fixed penalty notices.
| Action | Number | Per 100 incidents | England per 100 incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigations | 1,039 | 42.7 | 28.8 |
| Warning letters | 0 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| Statutory notices | 0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Fixed penalty notices | 0 | 0.0 | 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 |
The chart shows fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 residents in Stockton-on-Tees in each year from 2021/22 to 2024/25, with Defra's England total. The rate was below the England total's in every one of those 4 years. The series starts in 2021/22 because the count went from 2,618 in 2020/21 to 1,205 in 2021/22 while England's changed by −4%; 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.
| Year | Incidents | Per 1,000 residents | England per 1,000 (Defra total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 2,432 | 11.8 | 21.5 |
| 2023/24 | 2,235 | 11.0 | 19.9 |
| 2022/23 | 1,741 | 8.7 | 19.0 |
| 2021/22 | 1,205 | 6.1 | 19.3 |
Of the 11 councils in the North East ranked for 2024/25, Newcastle upon Tyne had the highest rate (52.2 per 1,000) and County Durham the lowest (9.8). Hartlepool 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 16,731 | 52.2 | 19.3 | 1st of 11 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | 5,317 | 38.2 | 2.2 | 2nd of 11 |
| Darlington | 3,846 | 34.2 | 11.5 | 3rd of 11 |
| Sunderland | 9,481 | 32.9 | 46.5 | 4th of 11 |
| Gateshead | 5,232 | 25.8 | 11.2 | 5th of 11 |
| South Tyneside | 3,443 | 22.7 | 38.0 | 6th of 11 |
| North Tyneside | 3,882 | 18.1 | 1.4 | 7th of 11 |
| Middlesbrough | 2,753 | 17.6 | 102.9 | 8th of 11 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 2,432 | 11.8 | 42.7 | 9th of 11 |
| Northumberland | 3,623 | 10.9 | 25.5 | 10th of 11 |
| County Durham | 5,260 | 9.8 | 110.4 | 11th of 11 |
| Hartlepool | 3,182 | 32.4 | – | Not ranked: counts public reports only |
- Fly-tipping in England: every council compared
- Crime statistics for Stockton-on-Tees (police recorded crime, from data.police.uk)
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Stockton-on-Tees in 2024/25?
2,432 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 11.8 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents. In 2023/24 the figure was 2,235.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Stockton-on-Tees?
Stockton-on-Tees 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 no fixed penalty notices.
Where does fly-tipping happen in Stockton-on-Tees?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on council land (1,778, 73%), back alleyways (399, 16%) and footpaths and bridleways (164, 7%).
What gets fly-tipped in Stockton-on-Tees?
Other household waste (1,336), black bags (household) (578) and construction, demolition and excavation waste (311) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
Is fly-tipping in Stockton-on-Tees going up?
The count rose from 2,235 in 2023/24 to 2,432 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 Stockton-on-Tees?
Report it to the council for Stockton-on-Tees, 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.