Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Anger over flytipping
Mattresses and rubbish dumped behind shop
FLYTIPPERS have been blasted by staff at a Dundee community shop for “destroying” the organisation’s surroundings.
Volunteers at Lochee Community Shop on the High Street say the area behind the store is being turned into a “dump” by flytippers and binrakers, who they say are emptying rubbish out on a daily basis.
When the Tele visited the site, there was a discarded bed and mattress along with multiple chairs.
There was also a significant amount of rubbish — apparently from nearby bins — on the ground.
Doris Walker, 53, a volunteer with the organisation said: “The flytipping is horrendous and it’s been going on for so long.
“What happens is people go through the bins and tip everything out. Then we have mattresses, chairs — all sorts of things — which are just left here.
“There was a skip outside and it ended up being filled with other people’s rubbish and mattresses. The whole area is covered in rubbish from people bin raking.”
Doris called on locals to “take pride in the community again”. She said: “This wouldn’t be an issue if people would just dispose of their rubbish in a proper way. I feel like we need to get back to taking pride in our own areas again.”
Doris said that they were due to open the store in the near future — and that the flytipping issue was putting undue pressure on them.
Fellow volunteer, Andy O’Neill, 57, said staff at the shop had contacted Dundee City Council and been reassured the mess would be taken care of but the local authority has not yet carried out a clean-up.
He said: “This is dragging down the entire area. It is a disgrace really.”
A Dundee City Council spokesman said: “So-called flytipping is completely antisocial and blights the communities and areas where it goes on.
“Anyone who does it is also acting illegally and the council has in place robust procedures to deter this type of behaviour. You can report flytipping on the council’s website.” Ourvoice PAGE 16