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Environment · What matters

Fly-tipping and street cleanliness

Dumped rubbish and litter spoil streets, and repeat hotspots return after clearance.

Raised by: Official data · Department for Environment, Food & Rural AffairsCouncil plans
+1 moreResidents’ surveys

The issue in five minutes

The problem
Fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people: 4.4 per 1,000 residents (2024/25), 17 per 1,000 residents lower than England (21.5), calculated from unrounded figures. Affects: Residents of dense terraced streets and areas with many shared houses, where waste builds up most.
3 related measures
  • 937 incidents Fly-tipping incidents recorded (2024/25)
  • 27.5% Household waste recycled, composted or reused (2024/25; 15 percentage points lower than England (42%), calculated from unrounded figures)
  • 540 per household Rubbish not recycled, per household (2024/25)

Different measures, sources and periods: shown together, not ranked against each other.

Who says so
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; residents’ surveys.
What’s being done
  • Safe, Clean and TidyApply a Safe, Clean and Tidy enforcement policy with visible patrols, a fly-tipping fixed-penalty scale from £400 to £1,000, hotspot mapping and review every three years.Lead Portsmouth City Council Approved · evidence 13 July 2026
  • Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy 2026-2035Adopt the joint waste strategy for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, with twin-stream recycling expected in future; no timetable for the action plan was set when Portsmouth approved it.Lead Portsmouth City Council Approved · evidence 2 November 2026

All 3 official commitments on this issue → · funding and delivery in the tracker →

What is still missing
2 items not yet published or reported

Not yet published for the work above:

  • Fly-tipping reports and clearances by area, and repeat locations (Defra publishes city totals only) (Freedom of Information request)
  • Fines issued and paid under the July 2026 penalty scale
Facts Count suggestion
Proposed by Facts Count Reduce repeated dumping at known hotspots. Not costed. A suggestion, shown after the official response.
How we’ll know
Fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people, compared over 3 years.

1 · The issue

What the evidence says

Who is affected: Residents of dense terraced streets and areas with many shared houses, where waste builds up most.

  • Strength Fly-tipping reports fell, but hotspots still need work. The council recorded 937 fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25. The retained series fell from the previous year. Reporting and recording can change the count; repeated dumping at the same places needs targeted follow-up. In context →

Two measures, two directions. The council recorded 937 fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25. The measure used for this issue’s change label shows: Fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people: up 1.9 per 1,000 residents between 2021/22 and 2024/25. Both are shown with their own definitions.

2 · The evidence

The figures

4.4 per 1,000 residents

Fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people City 2024/25 Department for Environment ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026

17 per 1,000 residents lower than England (21.5), calculated from unrounded figures.

Fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people

2019/20 to 2024/25

Portsmouth · incidents per 1,000 residents

Reviewed figures: 2019/20 to 2024/25.

Shown on this chart: From 2019/20 to 2024/25, fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people fell by 2.2% in Portsmouth and rose by 23.6% in England.

Both places compared over 2019/20 to 2024/25, using matching published dates.

Compared areas: Portsmouth; England.

Actual values

PortsmouthEngland

Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.

Source: Department for Environment ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026

Getting worse Down 0.1 per 1,000 residents since 2019/20 (4.5).

How change is judged

Fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people: up 1.9 per 1,000 residents between 2021/22 and 2024/25.

Rule: Standard deviation of the five year-to-year changes, 2019/20 to 2024/25 (1.09 incidents per 1,000 people, rounded to 1.1). Recorded incidents also depend on how actively the council finds and logs them.

Same period, other places (2024/25)
  • Portsmouth4.4
  • Southampton47.1
  • Chichester6.3
  • Winchester5.4
  • South East11.3
  • England21.5

Comparators: the nearest cities and the most similar places, with England.

More trends for this issue (3)

Fly-tipping incidents recorded

2019/20 to 2024/25

Portsmouth · incidents

Reviewed figures: 2019/20 to 2024/25.

Shown on this chart: From 2019/20 to 2024/25, fly-tipping incidents recorded fell by 3.8% in Portsmouth and rose by 28.4% in England.

Both places compared over 2019/20 to 2024/25, using matching published dates.

Compared areas: Portsmouth; England.

Change since 2019/20 (%)

PortsmouthEngland

Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.

Source: Department for Environment ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026

These are incidents recorded by councils, not all fly-tipping that happens. Councils record in different ways: Defra asks each one whether it counts all incidents or only those reported by the public.

Household waste recycled, composted or reused

2010/11 to 2024/25

Portsmouth · %

Reviewed figures: 2010/11 to 2024/25.

Shown on this chart: From 2010/11 to 2024/25, household waste recycled, composted or reused rose by 3.1 percentage points in Portsmouth and rose by 0.5 percentage points in England.

Both places compared over 2010/11 to 2024/25, using matching published dates.

Compared areas: Portsmouth; England.

Actual values

PortsmouthEngland

Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.

Source: Department for Environment ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026

Waste counts as recycled when it is sent for recycling; material later rejected at sorting plants is handled separately by Defra.

Rubbish not recycled, per household

2010/11 to 2024/25

Portsmouth · kg per household per year

Reviewed figures: 2010/11 to 2024/25.

Shown on this chart: From 2010/11 to 2024/25, rubbish not recycled, per household fell by 18.5% in Portsmouth and fell by 16.4% in Southampton.

Both places compared over 2010/11 to 2024/25, using matching published dates.

Compared areas: Portsmouth; Southampton.

Actual values

PortsmouthSouthampton

Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.

Source: Department for Environment ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026

England and South East totals are not published on this per-household basis in Defra's tables, so only the cities are compared.

Related measures

  • 937 incidents Fly-tipping incidents recorded City 2024/25 · The number of incidents behind the rate.
  • 27.5% Household waste recycled, composted or reused City 2024/25 · 15 percentage points lower than England (42%), calculated from unrounded figures · Household waste recycled, composted or reused.
  • 540 per household Rubbish not recycled, per household City 2024/25 · Rubbish not recycled, per household.

All the Portsmouth figures for this issue

3 · What residents say

Residents’ evidence

2 surveys

  • “Local area attractiveness” Answer: Agree

    46%

    Representative survey · 460 respondents · weighted · 95% range 40.4–52.4% · fieldwork October 2025 to March 2026 · Department for Culture, Media ↗

    Survey-based evidence (weighted official survey of adults 16+). 95% confidence interval 40.4% to 52.4%. England 58.3%. Opinion of residents, not a measure of service performance. DCMS change test against 2024/25: No Change.

  • “Local area attractiveness” Answer: Agree

    42%

    Representative survey · 495 respondents · weighted · 95% range 36.7–48.2% · fieldwork October 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Culture, Media ↗

    Comparison period published in the same 2025/26 table. Collected before the Community and Engagement Survey replaced the Participation Survey and Community Life Survey in October 2025; DCMS presents a change test between the two years. 95% CI 36.7% to 48.2%.

All residents’ survey results →

4 · Who is acting

Official commitments and projects

3 official commitments · 3 with dated evidence

Formal commitments by public bodies, with their original decision. Stages without dated evidence are hatched, never filled.

Committed by Portsmouth City Council Approved

Safe, Clean and Tidy

Apply a Safe, Clean and Tidy enforcement policy with visible patrols, a fly-tipping fixed-penalty scale from £400 to £1,000, hotspot mapping and review every three years.

ApprovedFundedUnder wayCompleted

Status evidence, 13 July 2026: Safe, Clean and Tidy Environmental Enforcement Policy, version 1 ↗

Who pays, key dates and what is missing

Funded by: not stated in the record.

Made 13 July 2026 · Safe, Clean and Tidy Environmental Enforcement Policy, version 1 ↗

1 dated record
  1. 13 July 2026 milestone Safe, Clean and Tidy enforcement policy, including the fly-tipping penalty scale, took effect. source ↗

Committed by Portsmouth City Council Approved

Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy 2026-2035

Adopt the joint waste strategy for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, with twin-stream recycling expected in future; no timetable for the action plan was set when Portsmouth approved it.

ApprovedFundedUnder wayCompleted

Status evidence, 24 September 2026: Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, 24 September 2026: decision ↗

Who pays, key dates and what is missing

Funded by: not stated in the record.

Made 24 September 2026 · due 2035 · Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, 24 September 2026: minutes and decision ↗

1 dated record
  1. 2 November 2026 milestone Hampshire County Council’s Executive Lead Member approved the strategy, subject to call-in; it takes effect on 11 November 2026 if not called in. source ↗

Committed by Portsmouth City Council Approved

Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan 2026

Plan for minerals and waste sites to 2040 under the jointly adopted Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan. This is planning policy for sites, not household recycling collections.

ApprovedFundedUnder wayCompleted

Status evidence, 30 July 2026: Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan 2026: adoption statement ↗

Who pays, key dates and what is missing

Funded by: not stated in the record.

Made 14 July 2026 · due 2040 · Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan 2026: adoption statement ↗

Every action on this issue, including other organisations and political proposals, in the explorer →

5 · What could change

Proposals

1 proposal

Facts Count proposals are suggestions, labelled as ours. Stages are a suggested sequence, not deadlines.

Proposed by Facts Count

Reduce repeated dumping at known hotspots

Find the places where fly-tipping keeps coming back, match each with a practical fix, help residents check waste carriers before paying them, and publish repeat rates, clearance times and costs alongside fair enforcement.

EstimateAllocatedSpentUnknown

Proposed lead: Portsmouth City Council, Safe, Clean & Tidy team (proposal; not agreed)

First step: Council analysts could test a draft repeat-location definition on existing 2024/25 and 2025/26 incident records and share the results with the Safe, Clean & Tidy team.

Issue: Fly-tipping and street cleanliness

6 · How we’ll know

What would show progress

Getting worse
  • Outcome: Fly-tipping incidents recorded per 1,000 people, latest against 3 years earlier; changes smaller than 1.1 are treated as no clear change. Now: getting worse.
  • Reduce repeated dumping at known hotspots: Repeat-location rate; Total recorded incidents; Time to clear; Clearance cost; Enforcement outcomes; Register awareness.

What is not yet known

  • Fly-tipping reports and clearances by area, and repeat locations (Defra publishes city totals only) (requested under Freedom of Information)
  • Fines issued and paid under the July 2026 penalty scale (not published)

Cost of living is featured by editorial choice. Other issues follow the order respondents gave the council in its 2025 budget consultation, a survey people chose to take part in; it describes respondents, not all residents.