Shocking figures reveal the scale of fly-tipping
Shocking new figures show that West Sussex suffered 7,677 incidents of fly-tipping in 2023 costing local councils more than £570,000 in clear up costs.
And the data – from DEFRA – shows that only one person in the county was prosecuted.
The worst district in West Sussex for fly-tipping was Arun where there were 2,035 incidents of fly-tipping, costing the local council £151,117.
Analysis by rubbish removal marketplace Lovejunk.com discovered that Crawley was the second worst in West Sussex with 1,449 fly-tipping incidents, costing £108,269 to clear up. See https://www.lovejunk.com/ fly-tipping-report/#/
The figures come just over a week after West Sussex County Council announced plans to extend its booking system at waste tips in the county, sparking fears that it would lead to an increase in people dumping their waste in the countryside.
Residents say that as fly tipping soars, the county council should make it as easy as possible for people to recycle responsibly and that limiting visits to amenity tips and making people book is not the answer.
Fly-tipping data for other areas in West Sussex show that there were 1,014 fly-tipping incidents in Adur last year, costing the district council £66,867 to clear up.
In Chichester, there were 844 incidents, costing £39,694 with 1,212 cases in Horsham, costing the district council £144,487.
Crawley saw a total of 1,449 incidents of fly-tipping costing the borough council £108,269. In Mid Sussex, there were 325 incidents, costing £28,904.
Meanwhile, Worthing saw 798 cases of fly-tipping, costing £31,111 to clear.
Local authorities report annually to Defra how many fly tipping incidents they have suffered, what cleared up, and what enforcement actions they took – including issuing fixed penalty notices and pursuing criminal prosecutions.
Lovejunk analysed the latest data for 2023 council by council to see exactly how much was being spent and how many fly-tips resulted in a criminal prosecution or fixed penalty notice. In West Sussex, just one person was prosecuted. However a total of 113 fixed penalty notices – most in Horsham and Crawley – were issued.
According to Jason Mohr, founder of Lovejunk: “The chance of fly tippers getting caught and punished are remote, and the cost to the public of clear up and enforcement huge.”