Fly-tipping in Wyre Forest council area: incidents, enforcement and fines
831 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Wyre Forest in 2024/25 (April 2024 to March 2025), according to the council's return to Defra: 8.0 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 West Midlands (15.5). The council took 178 enforcement actions, including 20 fixed penalty notices and no prosecutions.
Table of Contents
- Fly-tipping in Wyre Forest at a glance, 2024/25
- Where fly-tipping happened in Wyre Forest
- What was fly-tipped in Wyre Forest
- How big the fly-tips were in Wyre Forest
- Fly-tipping enforcement and fines in Wyre Forest
- Fly-tipping in Wyre Forest since 2019/20
- Fly-tipping in West Midlands councils, 2024/25
- Related pages
- Questions about fly-tipping in Wyre Forest
- About these figures
Among the 267 councils in England that count all incidents, Wyre Forest had the 89th lowest rate of fly-tipping per resident in 2024/25. Of the 27 ranked councils in the West Midlands, it had the 10th lowest rate. The count was down 12% on 2023/24 (940), against a rise of 9% in Defra's England total.
| Measure | Wyre Forest | West Midlands (councils counting all incidents) | England (councils counting all incidents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly-tipping incidents | 831 | 73,999 | 1,077,530 |
| Incidents per 1,000 residents | 8.0 | 15.5 | 21.1 |
| Share on highways | 77% | 45% | 33% |
| Tipper lorry loads or larger | 0 | 2,750 | 38,558 |
| Enforcement actions per 100 incidents | 21.4 | 40.2 | 42.1 |
| Fixed penalty notices per 100 incidents | 2.4 | 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.
Highways accounted for the most incidents in Wyre Forest: 638, or 77% (England 33%). 43 were on private or residential land (5.2%; England 1.1%).
| Land type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway | 638 | 76.8% | 33.4% |
| Council land | 90 | 10.8% | 18.4% |
| Private or residential land | 43 | 5.2% | 1.1% |
| Back alleyway | 41 | 4.9% | 9.0% |
| Footpath or bridleway | 14 | 1.7% | 20.7% |
| Other or not identified | 3 | 0.4% | 16.2% |
| Agricultural land | 1 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Watercourse or bank | 1 | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Commercial or industrial land | 0 | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Railway | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
The most common kind of waste was other household waste, in 372 incidents (45%; England 44%). Relative to England, Wyre Forest had a larger share of green waste (18.2% against 2.9%), white goods (11.4% against 4.7%) and tyres (2.5% against 1.1%).
| Waste type | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other household waste | 372 | 44.8% | 43.6% |
| Green waste | 151 | 18.2% | 2.9% |
| Black bags (household) | 104 | 12.5% | 17.2% |
| White goods | 95 | 11.4% | 4.7% |
| Other commercial waste | 27 | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| Construction, demolition and excavation waste | 25 | 3.0% | 5.5% |
| Tyres | 21 | 2.5% | 1.1% |
| Vehicle parts | 15 | 1.8% | 0.9% |
| Black bags (commercial) | 12 | 1.4% | 2.4% |
| Other electrical items | 8 | 1.0% | 1.7% |
| Other or not identified | 1 | 0.1% | 15.9% |
32% were a car boot load or less (England 53%). 68% were van loads (England 43%). None was recorded as a tipper lorry load or larger (England 3.7%).
| Size | Incidents | Share | England share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single black bag | 27 | 3.2% | 9.2% |
| Single item | 125 | 15.0% | 16.3% |
| Car boot load or less | 112 | 13.5% | 27.3% |
| Small van load | 159 | 19.1% | 30.8% |
| Transit van load | 408 | 49.1% | 12.7% |
| Tipper lorry load | 0 | 0.0% | 2.4% |
| Significant or multiple loads | 0 | 0.0% | 1.3% |
The council took 178 enforcement actions against fly-tipping in 2024/25, 21.4 for every 100 incidents (England 42.1, the West Midlands 40.2). The most common action was investigations (158, 89% of all actions; England 68%). It issued 20 fixed penalty notices (11.2% of its actions; England 8.4%): 8 for fly-tipping itself and 12 of other kinds.
The council told Defra that its fixed penalty for fly-tipping is £1,000, reduced to £500 for early payment. No prosecutions were recorded. Among the 254 councils ranked on enforcement, Wyre Forest had the 91st lowest rate of actions per 100 incidents and the 70th highest share of fixed penalty notices.
| Action | Number | Per 100 incidents | England per 100 incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigations | 158 | 19.0 | 28.8 |
| Warning letters | 0 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| Statutory notices | 0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Fixed penalty notices | 20 | 2.4 | 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 Wyre Forest in each year from 2019/20 to 2024/25, with Defra's England total. The rate was below 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 | 831 | 8.0 | 21.5 |
| 2023/24 | 940 | 9.1 | 19.9 |
| 2022/23 | 494 | 4.8 | 19.0 |
| 2021/22 | 596 | 5.9 | 19.3 |
| 2020/21 | 660 | 6.5 | 20.1 |
| 2019/20 | 518 | 5.1 | 17.4 |
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). Rugby's count went from 1,952 in 2023/24 to 4,488 in 2024/25 while England's changed by +9%, a step that may reflect a change in how the council records fly-tipping. 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 Wyre Forest (police recorded crime, from data.police.uk)
How many fly-tipping incidents were there in Wyre Forest in 2024/25?
831 incidents were recorded in 2024/25, 8.0 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents. In 2023/24 the figure was 940.
What is the fine for fly-tipping in Wyre Forest?
Wyre Forest council told Defra that its fixed penalty for fly-tipping is £1,000 (£500 if paid early). In 2024/25 it issued 20 fixed penalty notices (8 for fly-tipping itself).
Where does fly-tipping happen in Wyre Forest?
In 2024/25 fly-tipping was most often recorded on highways (638, 77%), council land (90, 11%) and private or residential land (43, 5%).
What gets fly-tipped in Wyre Forest?
Other household waste (372), green waste (151) and black bags (household) (104) were the most common kinds of waste in 2024/25.
Is fly-tipping in Wyre Forest going up?
The count fell from 940 in 2023/24 to 831 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 Wyre Forest?
Report it to the council for Wyre Forest, 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.