Large-scale flytipping incidents in England have surged by 150 per cent over the past decade, with organised crime gangs exploiting social media to run illegal waste disposal scams.
Official data shows 28,681 incidents involving tipper lorry loads of rubbish were recorded in 2022/23, marking an 18 per cent rise on the previous year.
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Criminal gangs are targeting homeowners through Facebook local groups, offering cheap waste collection services before illegally dumping the rubbish.
John Roberts, chief operating officer at Kingdom Local Authority Support, told MailOnline: "Within Facebook there are local groups and people are posting to say that they have waste in their garden and they want someone to dispose of it. Then someone is picking it up and flytipping it."
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A 'genuinely staggering' amount of dumped rubbish left nine households trapped in LichfieldPARecent examples highlight the scale of the problem, with 100 tons of waste blocking a county road in Lichfield last month.
Farmer Nick Hollinshead discovered the ten-foot-high mound at 6am. "I just could not believe my eyes," he said. "There are people who live on this lane who are now completely cut off."
In Bournemouth, 50 full black bin bags were dumped near a parish church.
The annual cost of clearing illegally dumped waste exceeds £13million, but officials warn this represents only part of the problem.
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Instances of fly-tipping have become more common in recent years WARWICKSHIRE POLICEDo you have a story about litter you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing holly.bishop@gbnews.uk
Fly-tipping is also an entry-level into crime for criminals and gangs, The Countryside Alliance (CA) saidWarwickshire PoliceCriminal gangs are using money from household waste collections to fund illicit activities, while others operate bogus waste firms as fronts for laundering proceeds from drugs and firearms crimes.
Households can face fines of up to £5,000 if their waste is illegally dumped, even if they believed they were using a legitimate company.
Roberts urges residents to request waste transfer notes when disposing of rubbish. "Members of the public now have a responsibility to know where their waste goes, so you should ask for a copy of a waste transfer note - that way you can protect yourself from prosecution."
The Environment Agency has established a new Economic Crime Unit to combat waste crime.
Criminal gangs are using money from household waste collections to fund illicit activities
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Households can face fines of up to £5,000 if their waste is illegally dumped, even if they believed they were using a legitimate company
PAIn one major case last year, authorities discovered an illegal waste site in Congleton, Cheshire, containing 200 tonnes of rubbish spread across fields.
Police seized a large HGV truck at the scene carrying 35 tonnes of additional waste destined for the site.
Law enforcement agencies are actively pursuing flytipping criminals, with a recent arrest made in Harlow, Essex.
The suspect was detained in connection with large-scale, organised flytipping operations spanning multiple counties including Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex.
Officials say investigations are continuing across these regions.
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