Croydon Council is intensifying its fight against environmental crime by bolstering its 'dump busters' initiative and expanding CCTV surveillance across the borough. The strengthened approach, discussed at a recent Scrutiny Streets & Environment Sub-Committee meeting, aims to tackle issues such as fly-tipping, unmanaged waste, and littering.

Fly-tipping is identified as a significant issue, with areas such as Bench Manor, Thornton Heath, West Thornton, and Norbury experiencing high reporting rates. A considerable proportion of reported incidents also relate to small-scale waste accumulations, often household waste presented incorrectly or left outside properties outside scheduled collection times.

A dashboard displaying data on reported incidents, including a pie chart showing reasons for exclusion from reports and a choropleth map illustrating the percentage of incidents cleared within service level agreements by ward, alongside a table of flytip statistics.
Data on reported incidents and fly-tip statistics

Key to this enhanced strategy is the increased deployment of CCTV, with 19 cameras now in place on housing estates and an additional five mobile cameras being procured for hotspot locations. The council is also developing a dedicated dump busters webpage to publicise ongoing investigations and enlist the public's help in identifying offenders. The webpage is in its early stages and will publish ongoing investigations and individual imagery where public assistance is sought for convictions. However, specific mechanisms for verifying and acting upon public submissions are not yet detailed.

Councillor Scott Roche, Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment, stated that the council has adopted a zero tolerance approach to environmental crime, which has a direct impact on residents, quality of life, and how safe and cared for the neighbourhoods feel. He added that the council has strengthened enforcement capacity, introduced a community compliance team, improved the way that we use data intelligence, and taken steps to ensure that our response is more targeted, more consistent, and better aligned to the issues residents are reporting to us.

In the period between April 2025 and February 2026, over 310 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were issued for various environmental offences, including household duty of care breaches and trade waste compliance. The 'dump busters' initiative is still developing, but FPNs are being issued for environmental offences. Between April 2025 and February 2026, over 310 FPNs were issued. Of these, 37% have been paid, and 29% are in progress, with some progressing to prosecution. The typical penalty for fly-tipping is an FPN, and an unlicensed skip can also result in an FPN. Minimum fines for default notices start at £250, rising to £1,800 for Level 3, though the report suggests these may not be a significant deterrent.

Black trash bags piled up against a brick wall, with a red overlay stating 'CAUGHT AND FINED'.
Evidence of illegal dumping and enforcement action

The council is also leveraging technology, including AI, to improve the Love Clean Streets app. AI has been integrated to identify similar photographs, helping to remove duplicate reports and ensuring residents' reports are accurately tracked. The AI can prompt users if a reported fly-tip appears similar to an existing report, asking for confirmation. Furthermore, the app is being enhanced to potentially pre-populate fields based on AI analysis of photos, simplifying the reporting process for residents.

Charles Baker, Head of Environment Services & Sustainable Neighbourhoods, highlighted the council's proactive use of data, stating, Love Clean Streets reports are used dynamically to inform the deployment of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement officers, helping the Council target hotspots, respond to emerging issues and direct resources to the areas of greatest concern.

A stacked bar chart showing the number of environmental enforcement reports from April 2025 to February 2026, categorized by fly-tipping, litter, and household duty of care.
Environmental enforcement reports by category

The council is also working to address fly-tipping on private land. This strategy involves identifying landowners and implementing a recharge mechanism for clearance. The council will clear the waste and then recharge the landowners, working with them to ensure their premises are secured to prevent future incidents. The community compliance team uses intelligence gathered from reports to identify hotspots on private land and employs environmental enforcement powers to intervene. For persistent issues, a charge can be placed on the property. This initiative, alongside increased CCTV coverage and the development of the dump busters webpage, signals a robust commitment to maintaining a cleaner and safer Croydon.

A man stands next to a discarded oven on a residential street.
Example of fly-tipping on a residential street

For more details on the council's work and reports, refer to the Public reports pack for the Scrutiny Streets & Environment Sub-Committee meeting.