Huge piles of junk blighting the countryside could have been brought from elsewhere in the UK to be illegally dumped in Scotland.
Heaps of rubbish found at an undisclosed location in Fife are among waste crimes being investigated in a clampdown led by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Illegal dumping is estimated to cost the UK economy £600 million a year.
SEPA has revealed waste from England, Wales and Northern Ireland is being brought into Scotland by hauliers to be illicitly disposed of.
The environmental watchdog is leading the £3.8m LIFE SMART Waste project, which is a multi-agency initiative co-funded by the European Union.
“Intelligence gathered by the LIFE SMART Waste project indicates that waste is being hauled from England and Wales and illegally deposited in Scotland,” said Kath McDowall, unit manager in SEPA’s Waste Crime Investigations Team.
She added: “Several companies are known to be involved and many of these are under investigation by SEPA’s Waste Crime Investigation Team for criminal offences. There are also indications of serious and organised crime group involvement in the transport, sale and disposal of illegal waste – so it’s vital that we work with partners across the UK to tackle this issue.
“Waste crime will not be tolerated and SEPA will, with its partners, pursue and take proportionate action against those who seek to profit from waste crime.”
Police forces across Britain, along with English, Welsh and Northern Irish environment agencies, have joined forces for the clampdown.
Among the other agencies involved are the British Transport Police, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Office of the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, HM Revenue and Customs and the Scottish Business Resilience Centre.
The Freight Transport Association, Road Haulage Association, Transport Association and British International Freight Association are also on board.
Included in the drive is a focus on metal theft, which is estimated to cost the UK at least £220m a year. Since September 2016, it has been illegal in Scotland to trade scrap metal for cash or accept scrap metal without verifying the identity of the seller. Similar laws are in place across the rest of the UK.
Detective Inspector Arlene Wilson of the British Transport Police said: “Criminals often believe they can escape the law by crossing the border into another jurisdiction. But with multi-agency partners working together and sharing intelligence across the UK, this just isn’t the case.”
Lynsae Tulloch, chief operating officer of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, said: “Illegal waste management is a blight on our environment, our local communities and businesses.
“These illegal waste sites mean foul odours, water pollution, pest infestations and the increased risk of fire, which results in essential funds from the public purse being diverted to cover the clean-up costs.
“Critically, criminals involved in the illegal movement and disposal of waste are diverting income from legitimate operators, depriving them of turnover. Some haulage firms are also being used to transport waste to disposal sites, without them even knowing they’re involved in illegal activity.
