Council bulky waste collections and fly tipping

The AnyJunk fly tipping report revealed that charging residents for bulky waste collections appear to have little impact on the number of fly-tipping instances in a given area.

Out of the 10 councils with the lowest number of fly-tips per capita, none provide a free residential bulky waste collection service, whereas several local authorities with a high number of fly-tips per capita offer the service for free.

Councils often arrange for separate contractors to collect the three main types of bulky waste: residential bulky waste, fly-tipped waste and void clearances. If a single specialist bulky waste contractor was engaged, the resultant economies of scale would result in a far more comprehensive and responsive solution and would provide the perfect commercial platform for councils to offer local businesses a low-cost solution for their bulky waste.