Fly-tipping falls despite waste site booking fears

A council that brought in a booking system for its waste centres has seen a reduction in fly-tipping incidents despite fears the opposite would happen.

People living in West Northamptonshire were worried more waste would be dumped illegally after the recycling centre booking system was introduced in November.

Everyone must register, which is free, ahead of time to access any of the six tips in the area.

Nigel Stansfield, the cabinet member for environment, recycling and waste at West Northamptonshire Council, said: "We were confident that bringing in the booking system would not lead to more fly‑tipping, and we're pleased that the figures show that this has been the case."

The authority received 8,938 reports of fly-tipping in the five months following the introduction of the new system, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed.

This was down from 9,788 reports of fly-tipping in the same November to March period the previous year.

The number of visitors to the council's household waste recycling centres also fell by 30% since the booking scheme began.

There were 262,000 visits between November 2024 to March 2025, but only 177,000 from the same period the following year.

A council spokesperson attributed the reduction to fewer people driving in from outside the area, and local residents bringing more items in a single trip.

The FOI also highlighted that early in the scheme, about one in 10 people had missed their slots.

A spokesperson said that some no-show visits were "to be expected with a service people are not charged for", but that bookable slots had helped to manage demand.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Stansfield said there would be a change of policy around fly-tipping, which would result in "a lot more" fines.

He said: "Fly‑tipping remains a priority for us.

"We will continue encouraging people to dispose of their waste properly and seeking ways to take action against repeat offenders.

"The more people we fine, the more we'll advertise and hopefully people will get the message out there."

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.