Medway Liberal Democrats demand crackdown on ‘Organised Waste Crime’ as fly-tipping surges

Local Liberal Democrats have slammed the “complacency” of the current administration after shocking new figures revealed that industrial-scale fly-tipping is surging across Kent and Medway.

The latest annual statistics show around 52,000 incidents nationally were the size of a ‘tipper load lorry’ or larger - an 11% jump from 2023/24. These industrial-scale dumps are often the work of organised criminal gangs rather than petty littering.

Despite the scale of the crisis, both Labour and the Conservatives recently failed to support a Liberal Democrat amendment in the House of Lords that would have made serious waste crime a strategic priority for the National Crime Agency (NCA).

In Kent and Medway, the cost of clearing these illegal sites is falling on taxpayers, with local authorities across England forced to spend a staggering £19.3 million on clean-ups in the last year alone.

Alan Wells, Liberal Democrat campaigner who has campaigned on fly-tipping in Strood Rural, said:

“Residents in Medway are sick and tired of seeing our countryside treated like a dumping ground. These figures show that across the country, we are seeing the equivalent of 142 monster landfills every single day.

From fly-tipping in Wainscott and Burham to Capstone, across Medway our neighbourhoods are paying the price for the failure to tackle organised waste crime. It’s not just an eyesore - it’s an organised criminal enterprise that is poisoning our environment while local taxpayers are left to foot the bill. Figures published last year, for our area, showed that fly-tippers dumped rubbish in Medway with a total of 5,332 separate fly-tipping incidents. (Source: Map shows England's biggest fly-tipping hotspots - Yahoo News UK)

The complacency and failure of the Government and the Conservatives to support our plans to ensure the NCA treats serious waste crime as a strategic priority is shameful. They have gone soft on waste crime and must stop dragging their feet to protect our environment here in Medway. 

Serious waste crime should be a priority for the National Crime Agency, with the worst cases taken out of the Environment Agency’s hands and dealt with properly.”

ENDS

 NOTES FOR EDITORS: 

 Fly-tipping statistics for England, 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK

 Based on data published in early 2026 covering the 2024/25 period, fly-tipping in Medway remains a significant issue, with 5,332 separate incidents reported, marking it as a major hotspot in Kent.  

Key 2024/25 Fly-Tipping Statistics for Medway

Total Incidents: 6,262 reported incidents.