Hounslow Council has issued nearly 8,000 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) in the past year, raising £3.32 million from fly-tipping fines alone, but some residents claim enforcement officers are fabricating evidence to issue penalties. Between July 2025 and June 2026, contractor APCOA handed out 7,912 on-the-spot fines for offences ranging from littering and fly-tipping to graffiti and street trading.
Fly-tipping was the most common offence, with 3,324 fines issued. Hounslow applies a flat £1,000 fine for fly-tipping, regardless of the size of the item, meaning the council collected £3.32 million from these penalties alone. On average, between 300 and 400 FPNs are issued each month, with 45 to 65 cancelled monthly.
Residents allege officers manipulate evidence
During an Overview and Scrutiny Committee hearing on Tuesday, September 1, Cllr Joanna Biddolph, who represents Chiswick Gunnersbury, said some residents believe APCOA officers are actively manipulating evidence. She told the committee: "An awful lot of people who've been fined believe that there is a corrupt or more than one corrupt APCOA officer removing the cardboard (from commercial waste bins), photographing it in a different place for whatever their KPIs are."
One councillor claimed residents had told her they believe enforcement officers are fabricating fly-tips by taking cardboard out of commercial waste bins and placing it elsewhere in order to fine people. Cllr Amy Croft, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Enforcement and Recycling, responded that the council would look into the allegations but reiterated that officers have no financial incentive to do so.
Fine rates have increased sharply since 2024
FPN fine rates in Hounslow have risen dramatically since 2024. In 2024, those caught fly-tipping paid a £450 fine, reduced to £250 if paid early. This has since been increased to a flat £1,000 fine with no early discount. Littering fines were £120, reduced to £80 if paid early, until April 2025. Offenders now face a £500 fine, reduced to £250 if paid early.
Feltham mum and NHS mental health nurse Loretta Alvarez was among those receiving a £1,000 fine after placing a cardboard envelope on a pile of other cardboard next to her overflowing communal bins. The council has refused to cancel her fine despite a petition set up by MyLondon signed by almost 4,000 people.
Council defends approach despite concerns
During the committee hearing, Cllr Croft explained the difference between littering and fly-tipping: "The difference between littering and fly-tipping in general terms is that littering relates to anything that is kind of thinking about it as personal waste so cigarette butts, chewing gum, crisp packets... whereas fly-tipping is the more deliberate leaving of kind of larger items." She said that instances of people being fined for having a full bin which their rubbish has fallen out of, like Ms Alvarez, "was not the aim". Officers have now been told not to target bin or recycling areas.
Cllr Joanna Biddolph raised concerns that the department was focused on revenue raising rather than tackling root causes of fly-tipping. Cllr Croft assured her "with the utmost sincerity... that the aim of this is not revenue raising".
Fly-tipping remains a significant issue in Hounslow, with 10,529 reports recorded for 2026. Despite this, Cllr Croft asserted that Hounslow is outperforming the rest of London, stating: "Whilst we haven't necessarily seen a reduction in fly-tipping, we have seen a kind of flattening of the curve so whilst the rest of London has gone up substantially, our fly tipping rates have increased by about 2% whereas comparable boroughs have gone up by about 10 to 15%."
In the last year, 728 fines were cancelled, with a huge majority cancelled on appeal. A further 85 fines were cancelled due to officer error, the council making a case-by-case decision, or the offender being under 18. APCOA did not respond to a request for comment.
