Rugby Borough Council is teaming up with Keep Britain Tidy for ‘Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight’, a campaign warning residents about criminal waste traders who use convincing, professional-looking online ads to pose as legitimate businesses - only to illegally dump the rubbish they are paid to take away.
Fly-tipping costs councils across England millions of pounds every year in clean-up costs, draining money that could otherwise be spent on essential local services. In Rugby, the council cleared up a total of 2,010 incidents from July 2025 to July 2026. With an estimated clearing and disposal cost of over £161,000 for the period.
The campaign calls on people in Rugby to protect themselves and their communities from falling for a #RubbishDeal - low-cost, unlicensed services offered using appealing ads on social media by organised waste criminals. Rogue waste traders hide in plain sight behind professional-looking adverts, ‘five-star’ reviews and tempting prices, making it difficult to tell them apart from legitimate operators. What they don’t tell you is where your rubbish could end up.
Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight is helping residents know what to look out for and make simple checks before handing over their rubbish to avoid it being illegally dumped on streets, fields and public spaces.
Rugby Borough Council is supporting Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight with a local campaign, calling on households to take three simple steps to avoid a #RubbishDeal:
Cllr Sam Edwards, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for environment and climate, said: "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.
Cllr Claire Edwards, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for communities, housing and safety, said: "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.
"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."
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive officer at Keep Britain Tidy, said: "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.
"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."
Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight will run from 12 - 25 October 2026, with local authorities across the country joining forces with Keep Britain Tidy to highlight the scale and impact of fly-tipping and educate residents on how to protect themselves and their communities.
For more information, visit rugby.gov.uk/fly-tipping