Helping Essex Councils Tackle Fly-Tipping with a Targeted Solutions Approach
Like all local authorities Essex County Council and its district, borough and city councils are burdened by the social, economic and environmental impacts of fly-tipping. In 2024, the Essex Waste Partnership committed to a focused campaign to address residents’ fly-tipping behaviours and the lack of awareness of Duty of Care.
Rather than starting from scratch they were keen to use tried and tested materials. This included the S.C.R.A.P Fly-tipping campaign resources developed by Hertfordshire Waste Partnership. Informed by a recommendation from The Environment Agency, they also saw the Fly-Tipping Solutions Guide and Workshop, developed by The Sustainable Sidekicks for Cambridge & Peterborough, as the perfect tool to kickstart their campaign in a joined-up, collaborative way.
The Brief
Essex County Council, as lead council, wanted to use the workshop to:
- Facilitate campaign development between teams, using the Solutions Guide as a practical tool.
- Empower officers and elected members to take ownership of fly-tipping prevention efforts in their localities.
- Encourage buy-in to the SCRAP campaign assets that had been customised for Essex.
- Upskill teams on engagement strategies that focus on positive reinforcement—encouraging responsible disposal instead of making residents feel they were being “told off.”
Our Approach
To ensure the session felt relevant and actionable, The Sustainable Sidekicks worked with Essex County Council to tailor the existing Solutions Guide and workshop materials specifically for their needs.
- The Fly-Tipping Solutions Guide was customised with council logos and a foreword from their elected member.
- The practical workshop presentation was updated to include examples of fly-tipping initiatives already tried by district councils and local services in Essex.
The Launch Event & Workshop
Setting the Scene
The campaign launch event brought together council employees, local stakeholders including the representatives from the Police, Fire and Crime Commission, Environment Agency and Essex Police, and elected Members and kicked off with presentations from:
- The Chair of the Essex Waste Partnership
- The Lead of the Essex Fly-Tipping Group
- The Essex County Council Circular Economy Lead
These introductions set the context for Essex’s focused campaign to tackle fly-tipping over the next three months.
Applying the Solutions Guide
Once the background was set, teams were invited to develop an approach for their own districts using practical behavioral science tools:
1. Persona Mapping – Teams selected a specific resident group relevant to their local community (e.g., renters, busy families, low-income households) and explored their values, daily challenges, and communication channels.
2. Empathy Mapping – Teams considered how residents react when they need to dispose of waste, breaking it down into what they think, hear, see, and do—helping to reveal the wider context behind their decisions.
3. Exploring Solutions – Armed with a better understanding of their target audience and their motivations, teams worked through the Fly-Tipping Solutions Guide to identify the most relevant engagement strategies for their specific challenges.
4. Real-World Insights – Throughout the session, Livvy shared examples from other local authorities, highlighting approaches that had worked well and warning against common pitfalls. For instance, she cautioned against free bulky waste collections, as Fife Council found that problematic waste carriers were misusing the service to dispose of commercial waste.
Key Outcomes
- High Engagement: The room was buzzing with discussions, particularly when participants were asked to commit to an action they would take forward.
- Tangible Actions: Every council left with a list of practical initiatives to implement as part of the campaign.
- Team Buy-In: Essex County Council’s waste team was thrilled with the engagement and collaboration fostered by the session.
“The session extended the launch to an event designed to inspire and equip officers to deliver new approaches. Bringing together officers and members to talk about local challenges and ideas generated exciting ideas and commitments to drive change in their communities. Livvy brought insight from a broad range of sector experience, pace and energy to the session.”
Katy Chambers, Sustainability and Resilience Manager, Essex County Council
Next Steps
With every council equipped with tailored campaign materials and ideas for action,the waste partnership is set to roll out a cohesive and strategic fly-tipping prevention campaign. By using behavioural science insights and positive reinforcement strategies, they are shifting the focus from enforcement alone to encouraging responsible waste disposal—helping to create lasting change in resident behaviours.
Find out how Cambridge and peterborough developed the Fly-Tipping Solutions Guide