Ten authorities have backed the covert CCTV, which creates a log of the people visiting disposal centres and what they dump.
West Sussex County Council, which has already deployed 16 cameras, thinks the ANPR systems will cut down on the number of workmen using domestic tips to dump their rubbish free of charge.
But critics say the spy cameras are an intrusion into privacy that will only encourage fly tipping elsewhere.
“This is another example of CCTV overkill,” said a spokesperson for surveillance watchdog Privacy International.
“I would be very concerned about how these images are used and who has access to them.”
A West Sussex County Council spokesperson defended the cameras, claiming they read and store registration plates to identify high-level users.
“A trader illegitimately getting rid of commercial waste on the site is likely to be a more frequent user,” they said.
“It is these people we are trying to identify and take the appropriate action against them.”
Tory MP Eric Pickles said he thought the money spent on the cameras would have been better spent on tackling fly tipping.
“Once people know about these cameras, I expect we will see further littering of our green and pleasant land as they will just dump their rubbish by the wayside,” he said.
According to the Daily Mail, the number of councils using the cameras has doubled in a year. Figures released to the paper under the Freedom of Information Act show that ten councils have set up a total of 33 ANPR cameras at 29 different sites.
West Sussex County Council reportedly has more than three times more CCTV cameras than any other authority in the country.
