A Fife MP has renewed the call for a “ghastly” rotting pile of waste to be removed from a site near Dunfermline.
Douglas Chapman, SNP MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, is the latest to demand action over the vast mound of carpets, plasterboard and other rubbish at the M90 Commerce Park at Lathalmond.
It is now six years since Labour MSP Alex Rowley, who was Fife Council leader at the time, demanded the eyesore be cleaned up, with the cost of doing so likely to be anything up to £1 million. He again raised the matter in June this year.
Mr Chapman said: “I would like to thank Annabelle Ewing MSP and Alex Rowley MSP for their efforts to get this removed.
“This site is an absolute disgrace and shouldn’t have been allowed to get like this in the first place. Locals have been trying for years to have it cleaned up, but with no success.
“Not only is this an eyesore for the local community, but it is a health hazard.
“Having visited the site this week I cannot imagine the number of rats and other vermin that will make this their home.”
Responding to Mr Rowley in June, Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the landowner had expressed willingness to explore options for removing the waste during a meeting with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) at the end of last year.
The site has blighted the landscape since recycling company First Option Services ceased trading in 2012.
In 2016, two directors of the firm were ordered to carry out unpaid work after being convicted of keeping controlled waste at the site in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution or harm to human health.
During the case, Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard there was potential for the waste to produce toxic hydrogen sulphide gas.
Mr Chapman added: “I hope SEPA will hold those responsible to account and swiftly remove this, so it doesn’t become any worse or present any further hazard to the public.”
A spokeswoman for SEPA said: “Every day, SEPA works hard to protect and enhance Scotland’s environment and we remain firmly focussed on finding a solution for the removal of waste from the Lathalmond site.
“Having successfully stopped illegal activity and secured prosecutions against the two individuals responsible, SEPA’s focus remains on clearance of waste from the Lathalmond site.
“We continue to engage both the landowner and our partners at Fife Council to work towards a sustainable solution for removal of the waste, and are actively seeking a date for a further meeting to discuss removal options with the landowners.”
