Fife fly-tippers branded ‘worst environmental vandals’

Large piles of discarded household and commercial waste, including builders’ rubble, fridges, dozens of car tyres and even two abandoned caravans, have been dumped in lay-bys and at the roadside atHeatherywood, close to Redhouse roundabout.

The area has long been regarded by residents and business owners as as being the worst black spot for fly tipping in the whole of the Kingdom, with the problem no better today than when locals first raised it with the Fife Council 18 months ago.

Then they were told CCTV was being considered in a bid to deter those responsible and to help reduce the council’s significant clean-up costs.

But, locals say, cameras were never installed.

“It’s environmental vandalism at its very worst,” Cllr Ross Vettraino, convener of the environmental and protective services committee, told the Press.

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”The council provides one of the best refuse collection services and, probably, the best network of civic amenity sites in the country, but the environment continues to be blighted by illegal dumping.

“The dumping doesn’t happen by accident.

“It is done deliberaty either by people, who are too lazy to use the free facilities or who 
are illegally disposing of waste that has arisen commercially, and who are cutting their 
costs at the expense of the taxpayer.

“In either case, these are people, who are irresponsible, who don’t care about the environment or the effect that their actions may have on those with whom they share the environment and whose actions must not to be tolerated under any circumstances.”

Cllr Vettraino dismissed claims that the problem was the result of reduced opening times at council run tips.

He said: “I cannot accept that there is any justification whatsoever for anyone to resort to illegal dumping and force taxpayers into hundreds of thousands of pounds of additional unnecessary expenditure every year just because
 a particular civic amenity facility isn’t open at a time to suittheir personal convenience.

Responding to the calls for more to be done, Mark McCall, safer communities service manager, said: “We are aware of the problem and are taking action to have the abandoned vehicles removed.

“In addition we will be increasing our presence in the area and will utilise CCTV cameras with a view to taking action against anyone caught illegally dumping waste.”