Lockdown and a new epidemic... of illegal tipping
SCOTLAND is facing a fresh wave of fly-tipping, the country’s environmental watchdog has warned.
The claim came from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) after two abandoned trailers full of waste were found in Lanarkshire in recent weeks.
Sepa has launched an investigation, which could lead to the prosecution of those responsible.
Similar instances of waste being placed into trailers and being abandoned at roadsides and industrial locations have occurred in England.
Sepa says it is working with Police Scotland and other partners through the Joint Unit for Waste Crime against a trend it is feared has grown across the UK since last year.
The watchdog added that illegal waste disposal and fly-tipping is a serious offence, with potential consequences of a criminal conviction and a fine of up to £40,000 and/or imprisonment.
Jennifer Shearer, Sepa’s head of enforcement, said: ‘A high proportion of individuals or companies that are involved in waste crime are also associated with other criminality and this activity has continued during the pandemic.
‘Sepa continues to work closely with partners, often through joint initiatives such as the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, to ensure we can maximise our collaborative efforts to have the greatest impact and ultimately stop this type of lucrative waste crime.’
She added: ‘In addition to causing serious pollution putting communities at risk, and placing further stress on legitimate operators – as well as on the public services that have to deal with it – waste crime impacts investment and economic growth.
‘Serious and organised waste crime is estimated to cost the UK economy at least £600million a year. That is why we are appealing to anyone who may have any information about these lorry trailers, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to get in touch with Sepa as soon as possible.’
As well as reporting suspicious activity, members of the public can help tackle waste crime by refusing to engage the services of people who are not authorised. Miss Shearer added: ‘Services that sound too good to be true often are, and could lead to your waste being illegally fly-tipped or disposed of by other illegitimate means.
‘Anyone offering to take your waste away should be able to provide a waste carrier registration number and tell you the named facility they will take the waste to – if they can’t provide this information, don’t allow them to take your waste.’
Andrew McPherson, head of regulatory services and waste solutions at North Lanarkshire Council, said: ‘The costs incurred removing these two trailers and disposing of the resulting waste has cost the local authority many thousands of pounds.
‘This is money which has had to be diverted away from key critical frontline services such as social care and education.
‘If people think that this type of incident doesn’t cause harm or does not affect anyone, they should think again and we will continue to work closely with our colleagues within Sepa and Police Scotland to identify those responsible.’
Last year it was revealed that flytipping hit a record high, with incidents more than doubling since the pandemic hit Scotland.
Figures released by Zero Waste Scotland show the number of times rubbish has been dumped at the roadside and in the countryside rocketed between March and April last year.
The organisation has run the Dumb Dumpers reporting programme for the past decade as a way for the public to report fly-tipping. Figures showed a steady rise in the number of incidents being reported in recent years.
While the level of cases dropped to a low of 95 in the initial weeks of the coronavirus social distancing measures, a slowdown in refuse collections by councils has resulted in a spike in incidents, with a high of 261 in April.
‘Causes serious pollution risk’ ‘Cash diverted from frontline services’