Public can help tackle fly-tipping
Council can’t do it alone
South Lanarkshire Council are looking for locals’ help in tackling fly-tipping.
The waste education and environmental services team have been out and about posting advice letters and visiting residences to offer suggestions on how people can dispose of waste legally.
The council aims to target the areas where fly-tipping is rife but residents are being educated on how to legally dispose of rubbish and are also being encouraged to report it.
Chair of the council’s community and enterprise committee, councillor Robert Brown (Rutherglen South), said: “Our teams work hard to keep our communities clear of dumped litter and rubbish. But the reality is that we need everyone in our communities to help by not throwing away rubbish that should be put in road-side bins, household bins or collected and taken to any of our recycling centres.
“A minority of people seem to think the rules don’t apply to them and that they can dump litter and rubbish wherever they like. This costs the public services time and money that could be better spent on other things. Neither the council nor local communities are prepared to tolerate this, and we aim to stamp it out.”
Residents were offered further advice including all the facilities available to dispose of additional waste and what items can be taken to any of the household waste and recycling centres or taken away by the council by requesting a bulk uplift.
The penalty for dropping litter in Scotland is £80 in the form of an on-the-spot fine.
Council officers also have powers to issue the fines and regularly encourage residents to report littering and fly tipping. Reported incidents are investigated and fines of £200 can be issued as well as referrals to the Procurator Fiscal for more serious instances.
The council’s Head of Facilities, Waste and Grounds, Kevin Carr, said: “The blight of littering and fly tipping in our communities has grown in recent years causing detrimental impacts on health and wellbeing, the economy, and our natural environment as well as diverting time and money that could be used elsewhere rather than wasted clearing up after those few selfish people in our communities who continue to litter their own areas.
“We cannot tackle this problem alone so we are asking everyone to play their part to make South Lanarkshire a cleaner place to live, work and visit.”