Fly-tipping crisis as communities turn into dumps

Danger warning over toxic waste blighting the north-east

COMMUNITIES have hit out at the fly-tippers blighting their streets after new figures revealed the top 10 worst spots in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Great Northern Road in Aberdeen and North Braeheads Road in Fraserburgh are the most common problem areas. Asbestos, abandoned television sets, sofas and even a discarded pair of wellington boots are just some of the items that council staff have removed in the last year.

James Adams, chairman of Fraserburgh Community Council, said: “Fly-tipping puts a huge strain on council resources and we need to encourage more people to avoid doing it.

“We’re keen to get more tourists visiting Fraserburgh and the northeast in general, and this is not the kind of impression we want to be making. “It is extremely disappointing.” Council chiefs have condemned those responsible and urged residents to “work together” to crack down on the illegal dumping.

Peter Argyle, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee, said: “Anyone who thinks fly-tipping is acceptable in their, or anyone else’s community, needs to have a look at themselves.”

Asbestos, abandoned television sets, sofas and even a discarded pair of wellington boots are just some of the items that have been left at fly-tipping hotspots in the north-east.

New figures obtained by the Press and Journal have revealed the 11 locations in Aberdeen and 10 in Aberdeenshire most often used by illegal dumpers.

Council chiefs have condemned those responsible and urged residents to “work together” to help them tackle the pressing issue.

Between August 2018 and August 2019, council staff were instructed to collect items on Great Northern Road 89 times – the equivalent of about two call-outs a week.

Nearby North Anderson Drive reported 49 incidents, followed by Sandilands Drive with 43.

Meanwhile, in Aberdeenshire the majority of fly-tipping incidents have been reported in Fraserburgh –- particularly North Braeheads Road.

Council staff were called to the short street 13 times during the year to collect abandoned goods such as a red sofa, televisions and a pair of wellington boots.

Outside Dales Industrial Estate in Peterhead, there were 12 incidents of dumping, including bags of “grey powder” weighing a tonne each, a pram and 20 full bags of hedge cuttings.

On the C99C road north of Drumstone, there were three worrying incidents involving asbestos – with enough dumped to warrant a council van being called in to remove it safely. Councillor Peter Argyle, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee, said: “We are by no means the only area to be affected by fly-tipping, but it is still a problem for us all.

“We have to acknowledge that as a community and deal with it.”

He added: “Anyone who thinks fly-tipping is acceptable in their, or anyone else’s community, needs to have a bit of a look at themselves and ask why they don’t use proper means to deal with their waste.”

An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “We actively encourage the public to report fly-tipping and have successfully introduced an online tool to make that easier and quicker – part of the council’s wider commitment to using digital platforms to improve the customer experience.

“As a local authority we are responsible for the uplift of items from public areas, not private land, and have a duty to tackle flytipping to ensure related health and safety as well as environmental issues are addressed.”

James Adams, chairman of Fraserburgh Community Council, said it was “disappointing” fly-tippers were blighting the town.

He said: “Incidents like this are detrimental to the environment, community and local wildlife.

“Asbestos could endanger people walking their pets and the cost to remove it is also a factor.”

It would be easy to assume that flytipping is something which happens mostly in rural areas, where the cuplrits can go about their business with little or no risk of being caught red-handed.

But, as statistics uncovered by The Press and Journal show, urban areas too are being blighted by this dangerous and antisocial practice at an alarming rate.

Streets in the centre of Aberdeen and towns across the north-east have become dumping grounds for those too ignorant to dispose of their rubbish properly.

Just in case they don’t know – and clearly, they do – the perpetrators are breaking the law, not to mention putting residents’ health and safety at risk and making neighbourhoods look like tips.

The perennial problem for the authorities is that those responsible are extremely hard to catch in the act, which is why so few people are prosecuted.

Without the deterrent element of people being taken to court and punished with substantial fines, it’s hard to see the problem getting anything but worse.

Communities, however, can do their bit to put a dent in the fly-tippers’ activities by being the eyes and ears of local authorities and the police.

Leaving it to someone else to report them, or turning a blind eye, should not be an option. It’s time to turn the tables, and the heat, on the rogue dumpers.

“The culprits are breaking the law, not to mention putting residents’ health and safety at risk”