The scourge of fly-tipping scars Lochee

Torched sofas, dumped furniture and broken glass have become “part and parcel” of living in Lochee, residents of 40 years have said.

Exasperated residents of Kirk Street, Yeamans Lane and Atholl Street have said some people “just don’t care” about the state of their streets.

So fed up by the ongoing problems, they admitted many of them had “given up” complaining about the fly-tipping, which they say has become progressively worse in recent years.

One woman, who did not wish to be named, said getting a property in Lochee decades ago would have been as “scarce as hen’s teeth”.

Now 20 years after from moving in, she said she would happily leave her home as fly-tipping and anti-social issues continue to “plague” the area.

“I actually gave up complaining to the council about the rubbish getting dumped outside,” she said.

“I don’t know what to say really about it, other than people just don’t care.

“Over the last five to six years the issues with flytipping have got worse.

“There can be a turnover of people moving in and out with varying degrees of social problems which adds to the situation.

“Previously I’ve had Dundee City Council come and uplift furniture but that cost does seem to be increasing for that service.

“I don’t know if that is dictating why people choose to dump these items outside in the hope they’ll eventually get collected anyway.”

Kirk Street resident Iris Fleming said a brown leather sofa had been outside her property since Christmas.

She added: “It is an eyesore seeing those items dumped here. I’ve lived in Kirk Street for over 40 years and I would agree this issue with fly-tipping has become more evident over recent years.

“It has become part and parcel of living here now. I wasn’t aware of any furniture being set on fire but it’s certainly a fire hazard when they get dumped outside like this.”

Sapphire Bosley, who lives on neighbouring Yeamans Lane, confirmed a sofa was set on fire behind her house last week.

The 23-year-old added: “It is a frustration having these items dumped outside your house.”

Lochee councillor Michael Marra said there has been a “marked increase” in fly-tipping in recent years. “This kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable,” he added.

“The council has to make clear that this kind of dumping is illegal and can be very dangerous with the real chance of sofas and furniture being set fire to.”

A Dundee City Council spokesman said: “So called fly-tipping is an anti-social behaviour that blights communities and areas where it happens.

“Our Take Pride in Your City campaign encourages everyone to do their bit to keep the city safe and presentable for all.”

You don’t have to walk far in the city or countryside to come face-to-face with a gutted kitchen or an abandoned mattress.

While lockdown brought people into the countryside, and on city strolls, in record numbers it has also led to a very visible fly-tipping plague.

The pandemic’s perfect storm of tip closures, followed by heavily restricted opening hours at dumps and recycling centres, seems to have made a bad situation worse for people in town, city and countryside alike.

The figures in Perth and Kinross reveal the extent of a growing problem.

The number of incidents reported to the council has more than doubled since 2015, growing from 523 in 2015 to 1141 in 2019.

And the pandemic effect? Cases spiralled to 1384 between March and November last year in

Perth and Kinross. It is a similarly frustrating tale in both Angus and Fife.

In Angus, 372 reports in 2015 grew to 575 by 2019.

Communities in the kingdom are the worst affected. Fifers made a whopping 4,014 reports in 2019 – up on 3,208 in 2016.

But figures from Dundee tell a slightly different story.

The problem appears to be falling away in the city with a high of 1,494 cases in 2016/17 dropping to 1,118 in 2019/19. Between March and November last year Dundonians reported 655 incidents.

Worryingly, these figures may not capture the whole of the messy picture.

Arguments over who is responsible for cleaning up the mess – especially if the waste is dumped on private land – can deter people from making reports.

Rubbish can be left to fester for days and weeks while those affected argue the toss over cleaning it up.

And all the while the dumb – or perhaps not so dumb – dumpers prepare to leave another load of unsightly garbage for other people to clean up.

MENACE: Residents have grown weary of dumped furniture and other unwanted items.

Another pile of unsightly rubbish is dumped.