By Andrew Argo

LOCAL AUTHORITIES in Tayside and Fife are struggling to cope with an increase in fly-tipping in the countryside.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said yesterday the level of illegally dumped waste on fields, hills, forests and lanes in the area was increasing.

The full extent of the problem nationally is being investigated by the Scottish Fly-Tipping Forum, part of the Keep Scotland Beautiful campaign, but local authorities are working with SEPA to tackle the menace.

The issue is back on the agenda having been raised in the Scottish Parliament by Brian Monteith, the Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife. He asked about the extent of the problem and the cost of clearing it up.

He was told this week by Scottish environment minister Ross Finnie that there is presently no centrally held information on the problem which is dealt with on a council-by-council basis, although the fly-tipping forum and SEPA were gathering data.

A spokeswoman for SEPA said yesterday that from all the evidence they possessed it was clear that the problem of fly-tipping on open land was getting worse.

Farmers and landowners were regularly shocked to find piles of construction and demolition waste on their land dumped by people with no thought for the consequences of their actions on the environment.

She continued, “We are working hard with the councils in the general Dundee area to tackle the problem but it is a difficult one to deal with.

“There is often little or no evidence as to the actual culprit. If culprits are caught in the act or can be witnessed, then of course we call the police who can take action to prosecute, but that does not happen often.

“We hope that in time we can educate the producers of industrial-type waste to dispose of their unwanted material appropriately, but also want to take action against offenders.

“We urge anyone who witnesses fly-tipping or has any information on the culprits to contact us, the councils or the police.”

Last month the Scottish Executive announced that it would give councils an additional £250,000 to tackle fly-tipping.

Tayside Police are working with Perth and Kinross Council to carry out high-profile roadside checks on vehicles carrying waste material. The persons in charge are made to produce specific information and documents on the carriage and disposal of the waste.

The measures are to raise awareness of fly-tipping and deter potential offenders through making them aware of the risks of being caught and prosecuted.

In Fife the council are mounting an initiative involving the police and CCTV surveillance at problem spots to re-educate and deter would-be fly-tippers.

Ian Webster, head of environmental health and waste management for Angus Council, said that in his council area the dumping of household waste can be as much of a problem as industrial waste, especially since new rules came in for the disposal of refrigerators.

“SEPA have an enforcement role and we have a tidying-up role in dealing with fly-tipping and we work closely together, and we have increased vigilance through our waste management inspectors,” he said.

“Our efforts to find the perpetrators do have some success, especially with household waste. There can often be an old bill or letter with a name and address, and that can link the waste to an address and a person.”

He added, “There is really no excuse for anyone in Angus to be fly-tipping in the countryside. We have civic amenity sites for householders to dispose of their refuse in the seven main burghs free of charge.

“These can also be used by people disposing of industrial waste. They do pay a charge but it is pretty modest depending on the bulk of material, and isn’t very much compared to the cost of disposing it in the countryside and the risk of being caught and taken to court.”

Dundee City Council with its tight boundary has very little countryside to patrol for fly-tipping, although it does have a problem with the illegal disposal of waste in built-up areas.

It pursues an active policy against the dumping of rubbish, and encourages the use of its refuse disposal sites.