Fly-tippers have been branded “mindless idiots” after dumping a load of a waste on a back road near Forfar.
In the wake of a Courier investigation which revealed that only around 50 people have appeared in Scottish courts in the past three years over a problem which is costing the country £9 million a month to deal with, locals have reacted furiously to the incident at Drumgley, west of the town.
Old metal fence posts, wood, bathroom materials and rubbish-filled bags were left strewn beside a field entrance on the road between the A94 and the old Padanaram school, a well-used country road.
Bags bearing Dundee City Council branding were among the dumped items.
The incident has been widely condemned on social media, with those responsible being labelled “mindless idiots”, and a local councillor has also hit out over the “disgusting” practice of fly-tipping.
Forfar and District SNP member Lynne Devine has also raised concerns over contractors taking money to dispose of downtaking from house renovations, saying that to then dump it in the countryside is just a “scam”.
“This is just happening too often and it really is terrible,” said Councillor Devine, the leader of the SNP group on Angus Council.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that rubbish is properly disposed of,” she added. If this is someone who has done this with their own rubbish then that is just disgusting.
“But if people are getting someone to do work at their house then they really must try to do the due diligence to make sure that the rubbish will be taken away and properly disposed of.
“It may be difficult because sometimes these people are very clever, just as every type of scam is. But if they are charging them to dispose of waste and then just dumping it then that is all it is, a scam.”
An Angus Council spokesperson said: “Fly tipping is dangerous, can impact on the environment and is a blight on local communities.
“We would urge anyone who has any information to contact Police Scotland on 101 or our customer service team on 03452 777 778 to assist with investigation of this crime.”
A study revealed that almost half of all fly-tipping takes place on council land, leaving Scots local authorities with a multi-million pound annual clean-up bill.
Fly-tippers can face fixed penalties or higher fines if they are prosecuted through the courts, but waste management sources have said only repeat offenders are pursued via that route.
Zero Waste Scotland has called for a a national database to be developed as a tool in the fight against illegal dumping, suggesting that the true scale of the problem is greater than research suggests.
It is through the problem also affects more than three-quarters of Scotland’s private landowners and two-thirds of farmers, leading to many incidents going unrecorded because they put their own cost and effort into clearing up fly-tipped material.
