Comment: Fly-tipping is a blight on our landscape

There is a clear problem with lazy, selfish people dumping rubbish at roadsides, and it cannot be allowed to continue.

The piles of debris are scarring our landscape, and leaving Fife Council with a bill every time it has to send out a clean-up squad.

That just eats into budgets which are already squeezed beyond belief.

Let’s be clear – the blame lies squarely with the lazy, selfish people who dump their rubbish in the first place.

They are doing it to cut corners, to save on paying for licences, and because they don’t care enough about, or have respect for, our environment.

The changes to recycling centre opening hours may have caused some inconvenience, and the licence charges for businesses may well be an inconvenience, but neither is a justifiable reason for tipping rubbish at a roadside and driving off.

More CCTV might help, but it is impossible to cover the most rural of areas, such as the Quarry Road, which are the locations of choice for fly-tippers.

Investigations by council officers may well point the finger at possible culprits – amid the turf, building rubble and broken fittings there are often delivery notes or paperwork which can lead them back to the culprit.

Proving they were responsible for fly-tipping is another matter, however.

So, we all have a role to play. We can report instances of fly-tipping, and report the people we know are doing this almost as a matter of routine.

We need to adopt a stance of zero tolerance – that fly-tipping is simply unacceptable.

And we need strong action when prosecutions are pursued.

Dumping your rubbish wherever you feel like for someone else to clear up is simply irresponsible.