Stevenage logged 3,058 fly-tips in 2024/25, the highest rate in Herts. Councils warn you can be fined up to £5,000 if a man with a van dumps your rubbish.
Stevenage had more fly-tipping in 2024/25 than any other council area in Hertfordshire, and the county’s councils have started a fortnight-long push today to remind residents that rubbish handed to a cheap collector remains their legal responsibility until it is disposed of properly.
The Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, which is Hertfordshire County Council and the ten district and borough councils including Stevenage Borough Council, is backing Keep Britain Tidy’s Fight Fly Tipping Fortnight, which starts on 12 October.
Stevenage’s figures
Stevenage Borough Council reported 3,058 fly-tipping incidents between April 2024 and March 2025, according to Defra’s local authority figures. That works out at 33.3 incidents for every 1,000 residents, the highest rate in the county and almost seven times East Hertfordshire’s 4.9. Welwyn Hatfield, with 3,028 incidents, was the only other Hertfordshire council close.
The Stevenage total was up 42% on 2,151 the year before, and above the 2,900 recorded in 2022/23.
Most of it was household rubbish. Of the 3,058 incidents, 1,640 were recorded as other household waste and 474 as household black bags. 2,454 were on council land and 532 on footpaths and bridleways.
The same Defra figures show Stevenage Borough Council carried out 94 investigations in 2024/25 and issued four fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping. It recorded no prosecutions.
| District | Incidents 2024/25 | Per 1,000 people |
|---|---|---|
| Stevenage | 3,058 | 33.3 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 3,028 | 24.7 |
| Broxbourne | 1,424 | 14.0 |
| Watford | 1,346 | 12.6 |
| Dacorum | 1,899 | 11.8 |
| North Hertfordshire | 1,387 | 10.1 |
| Hertsmere | 1,094 | 9.9 |
| St Albans | 919 | 6.1 |
| East Hertfordshire | 761 | 4.9 |
| Three Rivers | 455 | 4.7 |
Source: Defra fly-tipping incidents reported by local authorities, 2012/13 to 2024/25, checked 12 October 2026.
The county picture
Across Hertfordshire there were more than 15,000 reported incidents in the same year, the partnership says. Hertfordshire authorities issued 176 fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping and successfully prosecuted nine cases.
Cllr Tim Williams, chair of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, said:
“We’re seizing the opportunity to build awareness and combat the antisocial crime of fly tipping across this fortnight. While we do see commercial and construction waste being illegally dumped in Hertfordshire, the most recent statistics show that 62 per cent of fly tips contain household waste.”
Over the fortnight the partnership will publicise recent cases in which dumped waste was investigated and the people responsible were fined or prosecuted. Electronic signs over Hertfordshire’s main roads will also carry anti-fly-tipping messages.
It counts even when it is next to a bin
Enforcement officers fear many residents do not realise that some everyday habits count as fly-tipping, the partnership says: leaving a bag beside a public litter bin, outside a charity shop or next to a recycling bank. Each can bring a fixed penalty notice of up to £5,000.
The council’s photograph from Torquay Crescent in Symonds Green shows exactly that: boxes for a ceiling fan and an electric fire, polystyrene packaging and crates of empty bottles piled around a Stevenage Borough Council litter bin.
The partnership says the smaller dumping matters because it makes streets look neglected, encourages copycat tipping and costs councils money to clear.
The man with a van
The other warning is about who takes your rubbish away. Cllr Williams said:
“Most residents would never knowingly support waste crime, but many are unaware that they remain legally responsible for their waste even after it leaves their property. When you hand over your waste to a carrier or trader, you are also liable if that waste is fly tipped.”
Householders who have not taken reasonable steps to check where their waste went can face enforcement action if it turns up dumped, the partnership says. Its advice is a five-point check called SCRAP:
- Suspect every offer to take your waste away. Rogue carriers often advertise on social media and can look legitimate. Do not hand anything over until they show proof of registration, and note the van’s number plate.
- Check the carrier on the Environment Agency’s public register of waste carriers. Taking other people’s waste needs an upper tier licence. The partnership’s campaign card also gives the Environment Agency’s number, 03708 506 506.
- Refuse unexpected offers. “If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is!”
- Ask how and where they will dispose of it, and for evidence. “Legitimate waste carriers will be happy to provide.”
- Paperwork: get a proper invoice, waste transfer note or receipt that describes the waste and gives the carrier’s contact details.
SCRAP was drawn up by the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group, which brings together council highways and enforcement teams, the Environment Agency, the police and the National Farmers Union to share intelligence and enforcement practice.
What it means for you
- Getting rid of something big? Use the recycling centre, the council’s bulky waste collection, a charity reuse scheme or a registered waste carrier. Your Stevenage bin days and bank holiday changes are on our bin collection days page.
- Paying someone to clear it? Check their registration first and keep the receipt or waste transfer note. If they dump it, you can be fined too.
- Do not leave bags by a full bin or a recycling bank, or donations outside a closed charity shop. That can mean a fine of up to £5,000.
- Seen a fly-tip? Report it through the county council’s fly-tipping page. If you see someone dumping rubbish, call 999 and report it as a crime in progress.
More on the campaign is on the SCRAP page, and @HertsWasteAware on Instagram and Facebook will post updates through the fortnight.
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