Herefordshire Council insists it approach to fly-tipping is robust

Herefordshire Council has defended its record on dealing with fly-tipping in the county, after the reported number of prosecutions and fines for those caught dropped to a six-year low.

In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the council said it continued to receive around a thousand reports a year of fly-tipping on both public and private land.

The number of prosecutions and fines brought against perpetrators has wavered over this time (see graph) but remains small relative to the number of reports, with an average of 6.7 prosecutions and 5.2 fines a year.

But this dropped to just two prosecutions and one fine last year, not counting the final weeks of the year, the council’s response said.

Its Cabinet member for roads and regulatory services Coun Barry Durkin said the council’s approach “combines education, accessible waste services, fixed penalty notices and prosecution for serious or persistent offenders”.

He explained that the FOI figures “do not reflect the full picture” as many cases are prosecuted under related legislation such as duty of care and waste offences, “where this offers the strongest route to conviction”.

“When these are included, enforcement activity in 2025 has seen 13 prosecutions,” he said, including some past the cut-off date for the data including a husband and wife fined over £1,500 for dumping a caravan near Ross-on-Wye, and a Bromyard resident ordered to pay nearly £1,000 “for long-standing waste and anti-social issues”.

“Further enforcement activity is ongoing, and we are grateful to the public for their support by reporting incidents, which allows us to act quickly with good evidence,” Coun Durkin added.

“We continue to make full and effective use of the enforcement tools available to us, and remain committed to protecting our county from environmental crime.”

Fly-tipping in the county can be reported here.