Revealed: How few fines have been issued for fly-tipping in Fife

Last year just 3.2 per cent of reported fly-tipping incidents resulted in a fixed penalty notice from Fife Council.

The figure was revealed at the last full council meeting before the summer recess in response to questions from Councillor Gavin Ellis.

He wanted to know how many FPNs the council had issued for littering, dog fouling and fly tipping.

While more than 300 notices were handed out, only 136 were for fly tipping.

In 2018-19, more than 4200 incidents of fly tipping were reported.

There were 174 notices issued for littering, 136 for fly tipping and 32 for dog fouling with seven reports to the Procurator Fiscal.

You may also be interested in:

Drunk knife man fought staff in McDonald’s Kitchen

Fife drug dealer jailed after crack cocaine raid

Councillor Ross Vettraino convenor of the council’s environment, protective services and community safety, said: “Because the council’s environmental enforcement officers are multifunctional, when out in the field they carry out a range of duties, which in addition to environmental enforcement, includes addressing anti-social behaviour, and educational duties in schools. “

He said recording time spent on each duty, was not practical, but added: “What I can say is that all of their time is spent on the function of environmental enforcement.”

The figures come after concerns were raised last month that fly tipping had increased three per cent over the last three years.

Councillor Tim Brett, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “This is a worrying increase affecting all parts of Fife. The Council needs to take robust action against anyone found doing this and also take action to clear up fly tipping when it occurs as quickly as possible.

“We would also ask members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police on 101.”