Fly-tipping crackdown call over waste
Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) has called on the new Scottish government to urgently tackle fly-tipping which is blighting rural communities and costing businesses.
Fly-tipping has been an issue for some time, but from the beginning of the pandemic it has increased as local authority waste and recycling centres were closed or queued. Even after re-opening, problems have remained.
Earlier this month, two vans drovetoglencorsewatertreatmentworksnearpenicuikand, inbroaddaylight,tippedalarge amount of material including plaster board, insulation and timberontheaccessroad.itwill cost Scottish Water and its customers thousands of pounds to clear up.
In March, pictures showed industrialwastedumpedalong Cammo Walk in Edinburgh while a massive pile of rubbish was left on Birsley Brae, near Tranent.
Another business owner, John Sinclair, who owns Craigie Farm shop and cafe in Queensferry, also had to pay more than £3,000 last month to remove rubbish dumped on hisprivateproperty.healsohad to deal with waste dumped on public roads near his business.
Mr Sinclair said he wants tougher enforcement because current action, which depends on two witnesses being present to see flytipping, is “too rare,” especiallyinaruralcommunity.
SLE has launched its manifesto ‘People, Jobs and Nature,’ which calls on the new government to adopt a new strategy to tackle fly-tipping.
SLE’S chief executive, Sarahjane Laing, said: “Ending the scourge of fly-tipping and healing our rural communities is at the heart of SLE’S priorities for the next parliament.“fly-tippinghasserioussocial,environmentalandhealthimplications. It poses a threat to people and
wildlife, damages our environment and spoils people’s enjoyment of the outdoors.
“It is more than an eyesore. It is dangerous, and it is a crime. Too many landowners and farmers find themselves in a vicious cycle of costly cleanups. Forced, as victims, to not onlyhavetoremovepotentially hazardous materials, but also to bear the financial burden of waste crime. Rural businesses can find themselves liable for bills of thousands of pounds to clean up land that has been flytipped, with many offered no supportfromtheirlocalauthority.”