Fly-tipping in Tendring council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
495 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Tendring in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 3.2 for every 1,000 residents. The council counts only fly-tips reported by the public, so its figure is lower than a count of all incidents would be, and it is not compared with other councils' rates. The council took 498 enforcement actions, including 1 fixed penalty notice and no prosecutions.
Table of Contents
- Fly-tipping in Tendring at a glance, 2024/25
- Where fly-tipping happened in Tendring
- What was fly-tipped in Tendring
- How big the fly-tips were in Tendring
- Fly-tipping enforcement and fines in Tendring
- Fly-tipping in Tendring since 2021/22
- Fly-tipping in East of England councils, 2024/25
- Related pages
- Questions about fly-tipping in Tendring
- About these figures
Note: the council for Tendring counts only fly-tips reported by the public. Councils that count every incident they deal with record more, so Tendring is not ranked against other councils and its rate is not compared with England's or the region's.
Tendring is not ranked against other councils because it counts only fly-tips reported by the public, not all incidents. The count was down 8% on 2023/24 (540).
| Measure | Tendring |
|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 495 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 3.2 |
| Share on highways | 96% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 4 |
Highways accounted for the most incidents in Tendring: 474, or 96% (England 33%).
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway | 474 | 95.8% | 33.4% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 13 | 2.6% | 20.7% |
| Back alleyway | 4 | 0.8% | 9.0% |
| Council land | 4 | 0.8% | 18.4% |
| Agricultural land | 0 | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 0 | 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% |
| Watercourse or bank | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
The most common kind of waste was other household waste, in 157 incidents (32%; England 44%). Relative to England, Tendring had a larger share of black bags (commercial) (26.3% against 2.4%), tyres (4.2% against 1.1%) and green waste (5.7% against 2.9%). Hazardous waste: 7 incidents involved asbestos and 2 incidents involved chemical drums, oil and fuel.
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other household waste | 157 | 31.7% | 43.6% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 130 | 26.3% | 2.4% |
| Black bags (household) | 75 | 15.2% | 17.2% |
| White goods | 35 | 7.1% | 4.7% |
| Green waste | 28 | 5.7% | 2.9% |
| Tyres | 21 | 4.2% | 1.1% |
| Other commercial waste | 16 | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| Other electrical items | 11 | 2.2% | 1.7% |
| Vehicle parts | 8 | 1.6% | 0.9% |
| Asbestos | 7 | 1.4% | 0.3% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 4 | 0.8% | 5.5% |
| Chemical drums, oil and fuel | 2 | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Animal carcasses | 1 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
30% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 69% were van loads (England 43%). 4 incidents were the size of a tipper lorry load or larger (0.8%; England 3.7%): 4 tipper lorry loads and no significant or multiple loads.
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 6 | 1.2% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 97 | 19.6% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 45 | 9.1% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 166 | 33.5% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 177 | 35.8% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 4 | 0.8% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 0 | 0.0% | 1.3% |
The council took 498 enforcement actions against fly-tipping in 2024/25. The most common action was investigations (495, 99% of all actions; England 68%). It issued 1 fixed penalty notice (0.2% of its actions; England 8.4%): 1 for fly-tipping itself. No prosecutions were recorded.
| Action | Number | Share of actions | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigations | 495 | 99.4% | 68.4% |
| Warning letters | 2 | 0.4% | 13.0% |
| Statutory notices | 0 | 0.0% | 3.9% |
| Fixed penalty notices | 1 | 0.2% | 8.4% |
| Duty of care inspections | 0 | 0.0% | 5.9% |
| Stop and search | 0 | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Vehicles seized | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Formal cautions | 0 | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
The chart shows fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 residents in Tendring in each year from 2021/22 to 2024/25. In every year shown the council counted only fly-tips reported by the public, so the years compare with each other but not with England. The series starts in 2021/22 because the count went from 1,266 in 2020/21 to 591 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 495 | 3.2 |
| 2023/24 | 540 | 3.5 |
| 2022/23 | 533 | 3.5 |
| 2021/22 | 591 | 4.0 |
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 Tendring (police recorded crime, from data.police.uk)
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Tendring in 2024/25?
495 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 3.2 per 1,000 residents; the council counts only fly-tips reported by the public. In 2023/24 the figure was 540.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Tendring?
Tendring 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 1 fixed penalty notice (1 for fly-tipping itself).
Where does fly-tipping happen in Tendring?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on highways (474, 96%), footpaths and bridleways (13, 3%) and back alleyways (4, 1%).
What gets fly-tipped in Tendring?
Other household waste (157), black bags (commercial) (130) and black bags (household) (75) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
Is fly-tipping in Tendring going up?
The count fell from 540 in 2023/24 to 495 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 Tendring?
Report it to the council for Tendring, 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.