SHOCKING figures have revealed there were 1498 incidents of fly tipping reported in Dumfries and Galloway over the past three years.
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed that there have been no convictions for the illegal dumping of waste in the region during that time.
And that only 70 cases have resulted in the issuing of a fixed penalty fine.
Annandale South Councillor and Lib Dem group leader at Dumfries and Galloway Council Richard Brodie has condemned the fly tippers for littering the region’s beautiful countryside.
He said: “It’s a big problem for our region. The rubbish causes disruption to the countryside and it looks unsightly with all the fly-tipping.”
The FOI figures also revealed that there were 317 fly tipping incidents reported to Dumfries and Galloway Council between 2019 and 2020 but only 15 fines were issued.
Between 2021 and 2022, there were 657 cases of fly tipping and 37 fixed penalty notices were issued. Only eight cases were reported to the Procurator Fiscal but no one was charged with any offences.
In response to the figures, a spokesperson for Dumfries and Galloway council said; “All instances of fly-tipping reported to the council that are on public land are investigated for evidence.
“In the vast majority of cases the waste is either white goods, mattresses, dissused oil drums, old tyres, building rubble and waste or garden waste where, unfortunately no evidence can be found.
“As a large number of these complaints are in remote locations it is also very rarely the case that any witnesses are present, so again we are unable to obtain any evidence which would allow us to issue a fixed penalty notice.”
