Calls in Edinburgh for Scottish Government to allow recycling centres to reopen

Increase in flytipping puts pressures on Scottish Government

The Canonmills Dry Cleaners and Laundrette in Huntly Street has had rubbish dumped outside its door on three occasions during the lockdown

A MASSIVE increase in flytipping is putting pressure on the Scottish Government to allow councils to reopen their recycling centres.

Tips were closed at the start of the lockdown after travelling to a dump was not classed as an essential journey. But now growing evidence of rubbish being dumped illegally has prompted calls for a change.

Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs said: “Recycling centres have reopened in England now with safe social distancing and I don’t know why the Scottish Government isn’t starting that process here.”

Staff at the Canonmills Dry Cleaners and Laundrette in Huntly Street said piles of rubbish had been left outside their front door on three occasions since the lockdown.

Shop manager Sheena Dobbie said: “We have been checking the CCTV cameras and it looks like it’s the same people doing it. It’s disgusting.

“It costs us about £1,000 a year for our Viridor [trade waste] bin and we still have to get rid of this extra rubbish, so we are paying for it.”

“We have had the same rubbish, lots of bottles and bags for life dumped right on our door.

“We had no problem with it before the lockdown so I just hope they can come up with some solution where people can get rid of their rubbish more easily, because folk are starting to decorate and clear their gardens and such like.”

Researchers say flytipping has increased by 300 per cent during the Covid-19 lockdown. Analysis from Southampton and Portsmouth universities blamed the closure of recycling centres and a boom in DIY projects, among other factors.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said flytipping was illegal, antisocial and diverted resources from essential services.

A spokesman said: “The current position is that travel to a household waste recycling centre is not classed as an essential journey in Scotland.

“As a result centres are closed likely to remain so until the travel advice changes.”

But he said councils were actively planning for reopening.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was asked at her daily briefing if she would sanction the reopening of recyling centres. She said: “We will do that if and when we consider it safe to do so. We launched earlier this week as public campaign around flytipping and the need to be responsible. So we are very aware of this issue and want to make sure we take steps up to including reopening places to reduce the impact of this.”