Last week it was announced that fly-tipping is currently down by a third across the city, meaning that Milton Keynes City Council bucks national trends.

Nationwide, fly-tipping has seen an increase of 38% meanwhile Milton Keynes City Council’s latest report shows that the number of fly-tips are steadily declining.

Initial figures reveal that fly-tipping has reduced over the past two years. The number of reports fell by 22% from 2020/21 and, as of August this year, has fallen by an additional 13% when comparing with last year’s figures.

Councillor Paul Trendall, Lib Dem Progressive Alliance Cabinet Member for Waste, said:

“The Progressive Alliance has taken a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping and we committed to reducing it by 10% in this year’s Council Plan. I’m pleased to see that our approach is working, and that residents and businesses are learning that it is unacceptable to illegally dump waste across our communities.”

The good news follows the City Council’s implementation of its Flytipping Action Plan, which launched in September 2021. It highlights how the Council is engaging and educating the community while making it easier to properly dispose of waste through maintaining weekly waste collections, installing more bins, and making it easier to use the tips.

In addition, there has been a crackdown on those who actively choose to illegally dispose of waste and there have been over 130 prosecutions for fly-tipping in recent years.

Councillor Naseem Khan, Labour Councillor for Stantonbury Ward, added: “Residents across my ward regularly raise their concerns of fly-tipping in the area so I’m pleased that the Progressive Alliance’s proactive efforts to tackle the problem are working. I look forward to seeing how else the City Council can use the latest technologies and approaches to ensure fly-tipping continues to decline in the future.”

The Fly-tipping Action Plan is due to be refreshed early next year, with a renewed focus on the worst affected areas across the city. More information on these hotspots, managing other types of fly-tipping and what is being done to tackle the problem, will be made available in due course.