Rugby Council Launches Campaign Against Illegal Waste Dumping
Residents urged to check waste carrier licences and get receipts to avoid falling for 'Rubbish Deals' during 'Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight'.
By Aisha Mahmood
••3 min read
AI
Generic image of a red-brick building in the Midlands.
Rugby Borough Council has launched 'Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight' in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, urging residents to be vigilant against criminal waste traders who illegally dump rubbish.
The campaign aims to educate residents about the dangers of using unlicensed waste disposal services, often advertised convincingly online, which lead to rubbish being dumped in public spaces. Fly-tipping incurs significant clean-up costs for councils nationwide, diverting funds from essential services. In Rugby, the council dealt with 2,010 incidents between July 2025 and July 2026, costing over £161,000.
Residents are advised to protect themselves from what is termed a '#RubbishDeal' – low-cost, unlicensed services offered by organised waste criminals. These traders often use professional-looking adverts and fake reviews to deceive customers about the final destination of their waste.
During the 'Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight', which runs from 12-25 October 2026, households are encouraged to take three simple steps: ask to see a waste carrier licence, verify it on the Environment Agency register, and obtain a receipt.
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"Fly-tipping takes a real toll on communities like ours. In Rugby, we’re dealing with everything from household rubbish, white goods, construction waste, garden waste and vehicle parts, damaging the places people live in and care about and leaving our teams to clear up the mess."
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"Our teams work tirelessly to tackle the problem, but we need our community’s help to stop it at the source. No one wants to think that the person they’ve paid to take away an old sofa, mattress or pile of household rubbish could simply dump it somewhere else in their community. But rogue waste traders are making money from doing exactly that - leaving councils and residents to deal with the consequences."
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"We’re asking our residents to make three simple checks before handing over their rubbish: ask to see a waste carrier licence, check it on the Environment Agency register and get a receipt."
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"Local authorities see first-hand the damage fly-tipping causes, working every day to clear illegally dumped waste and protect the places their communities value. Tackling the problem places huge demands on already stretched council teams, which is why we’re so pleased to have Rugby Borough Council supporting Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight this year."
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"People hiring someone to take away their rubbish should be able to trust that it will be disposed of responsibly. But rogue waste traders are exploiting that trust, taking people’s money and then leaving their waste dumped in streets, fields and public spaces for communities and councils to deal with. Our message is simple: don’t fall for a #RubbishDeal. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is."
The campaign is part of a national effort involving local authorities across the country to highlight the impact of fly-tipping and educate the public. Further information is available at rugby.gov.uk/fly-tipping.
