Calls for harsher fly-tipping penalties as alarming figures reveal 704 reported incidents in Highlands in three years led to just 28 fines – and no convictions

Harsher penalties have been demanded to tackle fly-tipping amid an upsurge in the practice blighting the Highlands after it emerged that of 704 reported incidents in three years, just 28 fixed penalty notices were issued.

The illegal dumping of waste materials often happens in remote areas that in the Highlands results in an ugly blight in some of the most beautiful parts of the country – and is often costly and time consuming for the council to clean up.

Typically perpetrators are either too lazy or too mean to pay for the waste to be disposed of properly through a commercial outlet. There are also plenty of examples of cash in hand opportunists who offer to dispose of household or industrial waste at cost but are then less than scrupulous about how they do it.

Highland Council has already issued a warning that illegal fly-tipping is costing the region’s taxpayers thousands every year and called on people to report anyone they see doing it.

One incident of fly-tipping at the Attadale Estate on the A890 at Strathcarron saw 153 tyres dumped at the side of the road and is estimated to have cost the council approximately £2143 to clear up.

Fines can be issued that range from £200 to £20,000 or the offender can receive six months in prison – and up to five years if hazardous waste is dumped. Convictions are vanishingly rare.

Figures released by the Liberal Democrats show that in the Highland Council area in 2019/20 there were 239 reports of fly tipping resulting in 12 fixed penalty notices and in 2020/21 there were 280 reports and again 12 fixed penalty notices.

Then in 2021/22 there was a welcome fall to the lowest level in three years with 185 which resulted in just four fixed penalty notices, coming to a total of 704 reports and just 28 fines – with zero convictions, of which there was just one in Scotland.

Now the Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesman Willie Rennie has called for increased fines for those who dispose of their waste illegally.

Research by the party revealed that 200,000 reports of fly-tipping were flagged to local authorities in the past three years but just 45 were referred to the procurator fiscal and only East Dunbartonshire obtained a conviction.

Mr Rennie said: “Littering might as well be legal under this SNP government. From remote beauty spots to busy cities, these figures show that fly tipping is a blight on our beautiful country. Not only that but it can prove catastrophic for animals, plants and soil.

“The pandemic and the bin strikes disrupted refuse collections but there is also a fundamental unfairness in the present system, which sees farmers and other owners left with the responsibility for clearing up waste which has been dumped on their properties.

“We need to see local authorities using the powers at their disposal to clamp down on this disgusting behaviour and ensure that repeat offenders especially feel the full force of the law.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats also want to see increased support for farmers and those who bear the brunt of fly-tipping to help them with the clear up costs. This should use the proceeds of a new restitution order which hits offenders’ pockets hard.”

He added: “This could see courts able to require a contribution from offenders to a new national fund available to help victims.”

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