Data requested from Norwich City Council by Green councillors shows that fly-tipping reports in the city have hit an all-time high with 6927 incidents between May 2024 and April 2025. This figure only includes those incidents which have been reported to the council, so the real figure is likely even higher.
Data going back to 2021 shows that fly-tipping incidents have risen every single year under the Labour-run Norwich City Council. While the council refuses to provide updated figures on how much it costs the public purse to collect fly-tipping on the streets, the last estimated annual figure was £180,000.
This comes after a government report previously named the Labour-run council 267th out of 267 local authorities for the rate of enforcement action taken against fly-tippers: the worst council on the list for 2022-2023, while more recent figures for 2023-2024 showed that fines were given out in less than 1% of cases. In fact, it has been discovered that the council does not have any specific enforcement policy for fly-tipping.
Cllr Alex Catt, Leader of the opposition and Green Party group on Norwich City Council said: “I have watched fly-tipping go up and up and up every single year under this Labour-run council with seemingly nothing being done about it, and yet again we see another record-high for fly-tipping in the city. It would be hard not to conclude that Labour bosses either do not care, or do not know how to deal with fly-tipping.
“Green Party councillors have been calling for action for years, proactively suggesting solutions which are repeatedly ignored. With nearly £200K spent on fly-tipping every single year, Labour councillors could abolish the bulky waste collection charge which would make it easier for people to dispose of waste responsibly, but they’ve chosen not to do so. It is time that the Labour leadership started being tough on fly-tipping and cleaning up our streets.”