Call for task force to tackle fly-tipping
An East Kilbride councillor has called for a new task force to tackle the blight of flytipping and litter in the town and beyond to be set up as a matter of urgency.
Gerry Convery has said he is inundated with complaints about fly-tipping and the News has also reported instances of it countless times.
Just last month a pile of waste was dumped on the road at the closed Crags Bridge near Strathaven and in the last few days angry locals discovered piles of waste dumped on Glassford Road.
And last April tonnes of dangerous waste – including asbestos – was tipped in to the middle of the busy Calderwood Road in East Kilbride forcing it to close.
Mindless firebugs even set alight piles of waste dumped on an industrial scale on Calderglen Road in St Leonards just days earlier.
The councillor now wants to see South Lanarkshire Council’s environmental health, housing, cleansing and land services officers joining together in a task force.
And he has written to the local authority’s chief executive asking for this to happen.
Councillor Convery told the News: “We need a new special task force to tackle the indiscriminate actions of flytipping and litter that blights our area.
“Most weeks I am on the phone regarding this issue to officers of the council. They and their colleagues do their best but this issue is getting out of control.
“We need to take back our area making it a clean and tidy place to live, work and play.
“I would suggest that the new special task force is made up of environmental health officers, housing officers, cleansing officers, and land services officers.
“I would also suggest that it has one management structure that would coordinate the team’s actions.
“Let’s end this blight on our council because I know through my work with
constituents and colleagues strong action needs to be taken.”
David Booth, executive director of community & enterprise resources, said: “Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities and the council takes this criminal activity very seriously.
“It affects all aspects of our lives and our grounds services, environmental health and
housing teams are working on a new litter strategy.
“Mail drops, CCTV, waste removal and identifying any perpetrators are just some of the actions being discussed with all parties concerned.
“We encourage everyone to dispose of their waste properly and to take advantage of the special uplift service and civic amenity sites provided by the council.”