Ealing Council has issued 181 fines in just over a month as part of a new campaign to tackle fly-tipping across the borough. Launched in early May, the initiative enforces a £1,000 fixed penalty or the threat of court action against anyone caught illegally dumping waste.
The ‘This is our home, not a tip’ campaign aims to raise awareness about what constitutes fly-tipping, its environmental impact and how residents can help by disposing of waste properly and reporting offenders.
Ealing Council is also warning residents that failing to check whether private waste collectors are properly licensed can still result in a fine – even if the resident isn’t the one doing the dumping.
The local push aligns with wider government action to combat fly-tipping nationally. Under new plans announced in April 2025 by Defra and the Department for Levelling Up, councils across England will also be given greater powers to seize vehicles used in fly-tipping – particularly those linked to repeat offenders. In some cases, councils will also be able to destroy the vehicles.
Recently, a fly-tip on Southall Common was traced back to a Feltham resident who had paid someone to take their rubbish away. The waste was illegally dumped, and the resident was fined £1000 for breaching their legal duty of care.
The council says during 2024 there were 22,730 fly-tipping incidents, so far this year it has recorded 12,242 fly-tipping incidents and it costs approximately £3 million annually on clearing and disposing of this waste. That’s money, the council says could be used to fund essential services such as foster care, road repairs or adult social care.
Greener Ealing Ltd, the council-owned contractor, currently clears 98% of reported fly-tips within two working days. But time and resources are also spent gathering evidence from waste, CCTV and witness reports to identify and prosecute offenders.
Leader of Ealing Council, Councillor Peter Mason said: “We are committed to taking strong action against criminal wasters and our enforcement teams are working hard to investigate illegal dumping across the borough. Fly-tippers, you will be caught, and you will be fined.”
Councillor Paul Driscoll, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, added: “Our community takes pride in its streets and green spaces, and fly-tipping undermines that pride. We’re asking everyone to work together – every report helps us track down offenders and keep our borough clean.”
Residents are asked to report fly-tipping either through the Love Clean Streets app or on the council website.
