Council losing battle against fly-tipping 'scourge'

A Surrey council is losing the battle against fly-tippers despite "doing what it can", its scrutiny committee has heard.

Runnymede Borough Council (RBC) has seen illegal dumping increase by more than a third in the last three years, rising from 1,363 reports in 2023-24 to 1,871 in 2025-26.

This year has seen 487 reports so far, putting it on track to reach 1,948, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At a meeting held this week, committee chair Councillor Shannon Saise-Marshall urged people to "report, report, report - because that is the only way we are going to fix the problem".

Providing what it calls "a multi-agency response to tackle the scourge", RBC provides collection and enforcement services, the Surrey Environmental Partnership offers strategy and education, while Surrey Police assists with enforcement, particularly in vehicle-related investigations.

Large-scale fly-tipping and hazardous waste are handled by the Environment Agency, which can be expensive and take longer.

Officers said investigations could also be "hindered by a reluctance on the part of witnesses and complainants to provide formal statements".

In addition, "some vehicles used in offending are unregistered or linked to false names and addresses, further complicating offender identification".

Other negative factors quoted were the "significant" amount of time and resources required to monitor CCTV and a "high evidentiary bar" when it came to bringing about successful prosecutions.

Saise-Marshall added that residents should "go on the council website or FixMyStreet" to report any instances of fly-tipping.

"Please don't try via Facebook because this council does not do it that way," she added.

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