By Lucy Ashton
Only one in six reported fly-tipping cases in Scotland has been prosecuted, according to “deeply concerning” figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives.
Responses from Scottish councils to Freedom of Information requests from the party reveal that since 2016-17, just 59 of the 375 fly-tipping reports submitted to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have been prosecuted. This amounts to around 15% of cases.
These statistics come in the wake of recent data collated by the Scottish Conservatives, which revealed that more than 60,000 instances of fly-tipping were recorded in Scotland last year.
Fly-tipping has been branded a “blight on Scotland’s landscape” by Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser, whose Member’s Bill on the issue is set to come before parliament.
His bill – which has secured the support of key stakeholders such as NFU Scotland and Scottish Land & Estates – aims to improve current laws around fly-tipping by ensuring that there are better reporting mechanisms and data collection, with increased and standardised sanctions in place.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Murdo Fraser, left, said: “These deeply concerning figures underline why my fly-tipping bill is so essential.
“It’s bad enough that such a tiny proportion of fly-tipping cases are reported to the Crown Office, but it’s extremely disappointing that just 15 per cent of these are then prosecuted.
“Fly-tipping is a blight on Scotland’s landscape – it causes terrible environmental damage across the country and impacts both rural and urban areas.
“We need to send a clear message to those responsible that it won’t be tolerated – but that’s not currently happening.
“That is why I’m delighted that my Member’s Bill has received the necessary cross-party support to be brought before parliament.
“The destructive, criminal dumping of waste in unauthorised locations is utterly unacceptable, and the lack of prosecution exposes the alarming scale of this problem. It is therefore vital that we get it on the statute book as soon as possible.
“This bill is not party-political, but a common-sense piece of legislation that will strengthen the law and toughen the punishments so that this scourge in our communities can be tackled effectively.”
Only 1 in 6 reported fly-tipping cases have been prosecuted. An FOI obtained by the Scottish Conservatives has shown that since 2016-17, of the 375 fly-tipping reports made to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, only 59 have been prosecuted, amounting to 15% of cases. (Attached FOI).
More than 60,000 instances of fly-tipping were recorded in 2022. FOIs obtained from 30 out of 32 Scottish councils have shown that 60,405 fly-tipping instances were recorded in 2022. The council with the largest number of instances was Glasgow City Council, with 19,313 instances recorded in 2022. The two councils that did not respond to the requests were East Lothian and Inverclyde Council. (FOIs available upon request).
The Scottish Conservatives have proposed a fly-tipping bill. The Bill, proposed by Murdo Fraser MSP, aims to ensure that there is better data collection and reporting mechanisms and to ensure that the individual on whose land or property waste has been dumped is not responsible in law for its removal. The Bill also aims to impose strict liability on the generator of the waste for clearing it up and paying any fines for its disposal and finally to increase and standardise sanctions, including lifting the current fixed-penalty notice threshold of £200 (Scottish Conservatives, 1 March 2022, link).
The proposed legislation was welcomed by key stakeholders. A representative from Scottish Land & Estates noted: ‘To help end this often large-scale criminal activity, we believe greater public education regarding the true impact of fly-tipping is needed, as well as tougher prison sentences, significantly higher fines, scrapping the offender’s vehicle and making the polluter pay for the clean-up, rather than the innocent victim who owns the property’. NFU Scotland said: ‘Fly-tipping is such a major issue across Scotland that action needs to be taken to change the law when it comes to dealing with those responsible. Such positive action to tackle fly-tipping, through this Private Member’s Bill, is something NFU Scotland would fully support.’ (Scottish Conservatives, 1 March 2022, link).
Top: River Leven in West Dunbartonshire choked with fly-dumped debris. Picture by Bill Heaney