Edinburgh recorded over 10,000 cases of flytipping in 2022

MSP’s Bill aims to toughen law against flytipping

More than 10,000 cases of flytipping were recorded across Edinburgh last year, new figures show.Data gathered by the Scottish Conservatives through Freedom of Information requests to all 32 Scottish local authorities found a total of 60,405 instances of flytipping recorded throughout the country. Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said the figures underlined why new legislation was needed to stop the "growing scourge" of flytipping on communities. He has a Member's Bill he wants to put through the Scottish Parliament which aims to improve laws around flytipping by ensuring better data collection, reporting mechanisms and increased and standardised sanctions.

He said: "It is clear from these alarming figures that robust, new fly-tipping legislation is urgently needed. That is why I'm delighted my Member's Bill, which has overwhelming public backing, received the necessary cross-party support to enable me to bring it before parliament. Fly-tipping creates huge environmental damage across Scotland, which blights the nation's landscape in both rural and urban areas.”

Nearly a third of Scotland’s total flytipping incidents – 19,313 – were in Glasgow. Edinburgh was recently declared to be one of the worst cities for commercial flytipping in the UK. In its FoI response the city council said it recorded 10,461 instances of flytipping between January 2022 and the end of November 2022. But the council said it could not answer the Conservatives’ question on how much it cost to deal with these cases. “These incidences are uplifted as part to the wider street cleansing budget. We are therefore unable provide specific, separate costs for the removal of these items.”

Flytipping is a “growing scourge in our communities” according to Tory MSP Murdo Fraser.

West Lothian had 1,879 recorded incidents of flytipping and said the cost of removing the items concerned totalled £164,555 up to 11 December 2022. Midlothian said it had 45 instances of flytipping recorded in 2022 and the council spent £300 removing it. East Lothian was one of only two local authorities which did not supply information in response to the Tories’ FoI requests.

Mr Fraser’s Bill aims to ensure that the individual on whose land or property waste has been dumped is not responsible in law for its removal. The Bill also aims to impose strict liability on the generator of the waste for clearing it up and paying any fines for its disposal.

He said: "The irresponsible, destructive, and criminal dumping of refuse and waste at unauthorised locations leaves landowners and public authorities with the substantial costs of cleaning up. Such incidents - often carried out by organised crime gangs - are clearly on the increase, so it's important we get this law on the statute book as soon as possible. It's not a party political Bill, but a common sense piece of legislation that will help to tackle a growing scourge in our communities by strengthening the law and toughening the punishments for breaching it."

A Scottish Government consultation on an updated litter and flytipping strategy, which ran from December 13, 2021 to March 31, 2022, proposed strengthening enforcement measures, raising fines for flytipping from £200 to £500, improved data collection, support for private landowners and the promotion of responsible behaviours. A government spokesperson said: "Fly-tipping is illegal, unsightly and harmful to our communities, environment and wildlife and there is no excuse for the behaviour anywhere in Scotland. We have already set out bold plans to tackle this issue, including proposals to more than double the current maximum fine for fly-tipping, and will be taking forward action through a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and Circular Economy Bill this year."