Fly-tipping rogues warned by council
Th e c l o s u re o f recycling centres has led to a spate of fly- tipping in West Lothian.
Extra household waste during lockdown and dumps being closed have sparked a dangerous nationwide flytipping crisis.
West Lothian is one of a few areas where the council has managed to continue their full refuge collections but this hasn’t stopped people from dumping rubbish.
Harthill Road, between Fauldhouse and Harthill, is one such area to have ben targeted with lay- bys and woodland roads covered in binbags and household waste.
Police Scotland have been receiving reports about flytipping but they told The West Lothian Courier they will only attend if the act is in progress. Otherwise, they pass on the information to the local authority.
The area in Harthill is controlled by the Forestry and Land Scotland.
Stuart Chalmers, regional visitor services manager for Forestry and Land Scotland, said: “We are aware of flytipping issues and it’s really regrettable that some individuals are choosing to break the law in this way and create a mess for other people to clean up.
“Fly-tipping is anti-social behaviour of the worst sort.
“It spoils any site where it happens, can endanger wildlife and potentially watercourses, and it means we have to divert limited resources that could be far better used elsewhere to clearing it up.
“We would strongly urge anyone who sees activity of this sort not to challenge anyone but to report it to the local police on the Dumb Dumpers line – the more reports they have the more able they are to act.”
The Scottish Government is now in talks with local authority body COSLA on how to re- open recycling centres with a regime of social distancing in place, but, in the meantime, the public are being warned that dumping must stop.
A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “There is simply no excuse for illegal fly-tipping at any time, and anyone convicted of flytipping could be fined up to £40,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 12 months.
“Since the COVID- 19 outbreak, there has not been a marked rise in the incidents of fly-tipping being reported to the council.
“Incidents of fly-tipping have broadly remained the same, with an average of around six per day collected by our team.
“Previously, the vast majority of fly- tipping incidents were caused by businesses illegally dumping waste – more fly- tipping being collected is now household waste.
“However, it remains only a tiny percentage of West Lothian’s 85,000 households who are disposing of their waste in this illegal way, with the vast majority being responsible and protecting our environment.
“West Lothian is one of the few local authorities in Scotland who have maintained a full household waste collection service.
“The Bulky Uplift service has recently been reinstated to allow residents to have large items collected for a small cost, and can be booked at www.westlothian. gov.uk/bulky-uplift.
“Recycling centres will continue to be closed as they are classed as non-essential journeys under Scottish Government guidance.”
Anyone who spots flytipping should report it at https://www.westlothian. gov. uk/ article/ 32089/ Report-Illegal-Fly-Tipping.