The government has launched a consultation on whether to force fly-tippers to clean up communities and pay the costs of clearing up their mess.

Under the proposals, councils would gain stronger powers to issue conditional cautions requiring offenders to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid clean-up work. Councils will also be able to recover the costs of the clean-up directly from offenders, ensuring taxpayers are not left to foot the bill.

The measures build on action announced in July to increase the maximum on-the-spot fines for fly-tipping to £5,000, a 400% uplift from the previous level of £1,000.

The consultation will run for 8 weeks and end on 23:59 16 October 2026.

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: "If you fly-tip it, you should be the one cleaning it up and paying for it. It’s that simple.

"Fly-tippers show a blatant disregard for our communities, leaving residents to live with the mess they create.

"I want to give councils new powers to make offenders take responsibility for their actions, by helping to clear up the communities they have harmed and covering the cost of putting things right."