Fly-tipping epidemic: One in five Brits have witnessed industrial scale dumping in new "environmental wild west”

EMBARGO: 2230 Monday 22nd December

• Poll reveals one in five have seen large-scale fly-tipping incidents in their areas after shocking waste mountain uncovered in Oxfordshire
• Lib Dems call for new fly-tipping hotline and a crackdown by the National Crime Agency into the gangs behind waste crime
• Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron warns “criminal gangs are turning this country into an environmental wild west.”

New polling has revealed that the shocking "mountain of rubbish" recently discovered in Oxfordshire is not a rare incident, with one in five (20%) UK adults reporting they have witnessed large-scale illegal dumping in their own local areas.

The poll, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, paints a picture of a country struggling to contain an environmental crisis with organised criminal gangs getting away with dumping waste at unknown scale and unknown risk to health and the environment.

For those who have witnessed these environmental eyesores, the situation is deteriorating rapidly. 3 in 5 (64%) of those polled have said that the problem has worsened in the last 12 months, with only 1 in 20 (5%) reporting that it has improved.

The public is clear about who is behind the large scale illegal dump sites . Two-thirds (66%) of those who have seen large-scale dumping believe it is "definitely" or "likely" the work of organised criminal gangs.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to urgently clean up waste crime dumps sites and set up a new national fly-tipping hotline to allow members of the public to report large-scale serious waste crime, as part of a gangs treating the British countryside as their personal landfill. The party is also calling for the National Crime Agency to take over the investigation into illegal dumps in the most serious cases and improve coordination with local police forces.

The shocking mountain of illegally dumped waste in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, is one of a number of large-scale dumping sites recently discovered in the country but not officially recognised by the Environment Agency. A recent report by the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee highlighted that the true scale and impact of serious waste crime is still unknown.

Tim Farron MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said:

"These figures show that the scandalous mountain of filth in Oxfordshire is just the tip of the iceberg. From our riversides to our rural lanes, criminal gangs are turning this country into an environmental wild west.

"What’s worse - we don’t even know the true scale of the problem. Communities are being left to deal with filthy waste whilst criminal operations run rings around a system that all but looks the other way.

“We cannot go on like this. Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to urgently clean up illegal waste sites and set up a new fly-tipping hotline to improve public reporting and detection of large-scale waste sites across the country. We also need the National Crime Agency to take the fight to the gangs that are desecrating our countryside and prosecute them with the full force of the law.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Methodology: Savanta interviewed 2,297 UK adults online between 21st and 24th November 2025. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK by age, sex, region, and social grade.

Q1. With recent reports of a ‘mountain of rubbish’ illegally dumped in Oxfordshire, have you seen similar large-scale illegal fly tipping in your local area? Base: All respondents (2,297)

I have 20%

I have not 71%

Don’t know 9%

Q2. Has the problem got better or worse in the past 12 months? Base: All respondents who have seen large-scale fly tipping in their local area (425)

Much worse 35%

Slightly worse 28%

No change 19%

Slightly better 9%

Much better 5%

Don’t know 4%

NET: Worse 64%

NET: Better 14%

Q3. To what extent do you think organised criminal groups may be involved in any of the large-scale rubbish dumping you have seen in your local area? Base: All respondents who have seen large-scale fly tipping in their local area (425)

Definitely 29%

Likely 37%

Unlikely 16%

Not at all 4%

Unsure 13%

NET: Definitely/ likely 66%

NET: Unlikely/ not at all 21%