'There are clearly no signs of flytipping dying down any time soon' - Edinburgh politicians hit out

Flytipping is plaguing rural hotspots across Edinburgh and the Lothians with no end in sight for the behaviour according to one local councillor.
Flytipping at Cammo WalkFlytipping at Cammo Walk
Flytipping at Cammo Walk

Two incidents showing suspected industrial waste were sent to the Evening News this week.

The first image shows a pile of tyres and what appears to be a collection of debris from a domestic construction job that had been dumped along Cammo Walk on Monday evening.

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Cammo Walk is said to be the target of several flytipping incidents over recent months.

Flytipping by Woodbank cemeteryFlytipping by Woodbank cemetery
Flytipping by Woodbank cemetery

Local councillor Mark Brown had said that it is infuriating to witness the destruction of the environment in this way and called for the council to make more funds available to help deal with the problem.

He said: “There are clearly no signs of flytipping dying down any time soon.

“Cammo Walk is a familiar spot for flytipping and I have reported the latest incident to the council.

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“A part of the frustration is a lack of funding for environmental wardens within the capital and this means there are fewer of them out there to prevent these known hot spots from continuing to be dumped on. The council should be looking at early intervention wherever possible.”

A similar incident was reported on the road that leads up to Woodbank Cemetery in Armadale.

Margo and Jim, who did not wish to use their surnames, are keen walkers around the area.

They spotted the debris on Tuesday morning and were shocked to discover the contents of a house clear out with two mattresses and metal frames dumped by the side of the road.

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Margo said: “My husband and I do a 5.2 mile walk from Armadale via Bridgehouse daily and are so disgusted with the fly tipping and mindless throwing of litter from vehicles. There is absolutely no excuse for this at all.”

Local councillor Stuart Borrowman, said: “It is undoubtedly a social problem that we have.

“We need obvious penalties and if someone is traced there has to be severe punishments.”

In response to the Edinburgh incident, Lesley Macinnes, environment convener, said: “Whenever there is sufficient evidence to identify who has flytipped, we will take enforcement action against them.

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“We have a simple booking system for residents to access our Household Waste Recycling centres and a special uplift service that costs only £5 per item to legally dispose of unwanted bulky household waste.

“You can report flytipping to us and on the Zero Waste Scotland website.”

A West Lothian council spokesperson said: “There’s simply no excuse for fly-tipping, which is a selfish act that spoils our shared environment.

“Our research shows that the majority of fly-tipping is commercial in nature, so we would ask local residents to check that anyone doing work for them has a valid waste carrier license from SEPA. Tradespeople and householders are both legally responsible for ensuring that they dispose of their waste items legally and safely, as dumping waste is illegal and can lead to a prosecution and a fine of up to £40,000.

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“We will investigate this fly-tipping and if it is on council ground, we will remove it. If it is on private ground, we attempt to locate and inform the landowner.”

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