Barnet fly-tipping rises 22%, and Cricklewood is worst hit

Barnet Council recorded 4,091 fly-tipping incidents between April and July 2026, 22% more than the 3,342 in the same four months of 2025. In the twelve months to July, the borough logged 10,787 incidents, close to 30 a day.

The figures are in an appendix to a council paper on street cleaning, published for the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee on Monday 9 November. They break the total down by ward and by month, from April 2025 to July 2026. (Barnet Council, Street Cleansing options paper, Appendix 2)

Where it happens

Four wards each recorded more than 1,000 incidents in the year to July:

• Cricklewood: 1,195
• Edgware: 1,121
• Burnt Oak: 1,018
• Hendon: 1,015

Those four wards account for 4,349 incidents, about four in every ten across Barnet’s 24 wards.

At the other end, Barnet Vale recorded 21 in the whole year, Totteridge and Woodside 30 and Underhill 49.

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Where it is rising fastest

Comparing April to July this year with the same months last year:

• Woodhouse, which includes part of North Finchley, nearly doubled, from 179 to 348.
• Colindale North went from 62 to 158.
• Cricklewood rose from 328 to 479, the biggest increase in numbers.
• Mill Hill rose from 123 to 217 and High Barnet from 131 to 214.

A few wards went the other way. Edgware fell from 447 to 375 and Burnt Oak from 359 to 330, though both remain among the worst-hit. Friern Barnet fell from 113 to 83.

The single worst month in the table was March 2026, with 1,121 incidents. Every month from March to July 2026 was higher than any month in 2025.

Every ward

Totals for August 2025 to July 2026 and the two four-month periods are our own sums of the council’s monthly figures. Every monthly total we added matches the council’s own total column.

What the figures can and cannot tell you

These are incidents the council recorded. Its crews respond to reports from residents, businesses and other council services, and also patrol known hotspots. A rise in recorded fly-tipping can mean more dumping, more reporting, or both. The paper does not say which.

The council measures its performance on the number of fly-tips reported and the number per 1,000 people, using a population of 389,010. On that basis the year to July works out at about 28 incidents per 1,000 residents.

What the council is doing

The paper says officers are preparing the next phase of the council’s fly-tipping campaign. Councillors on the committee asked for it to target hotspots rather than going ward by ward, as the last one did. The hotspots will be chosen from the latest incident figures, and the plan will be signed off by the Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change.

The council’s street cleaning teams are also running joint operations with its Community Safety Team against fly-tipping.

The same paper proposes timed bin bag collections for seven town centres, partly to cut the dumping that follows bags left out overnight. We have covered that plan separately: timed bin collections planned for seven Barnet town centres.

What it means for you

• Report it. Fly-tips on the public highway are cleared by the council’s street cleansing service. Report through the council’s website or app with the exact location.
• Book a bulky collection rather than leaving furniture out. The council runs a chargeable bulky waste service, and the Summers Lane recycling centre takes furniture, fridges and electricals from north London residents.
• Check who takes your rubbish. Householders have a legal duty to give waste only to a registered carrier. You can check a carrier’s registration on the Environment Agency register.

Our Barnet bin collection days page has your regular collection day.

Sources

• Barnet Council, Street Cleansing options paper, Appendix 2, fly-tipping incidents by ward and month, 1 April 2025 to 31 July 2026, report to the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee, 9 November 2026