Fly-tipping complaints in Glasgow’s Southside are increasing

Thousands of complaints have been made about fly-tipping over the last three years.

Local councillors say that Glasgow residents “deserve better” after an Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that complaints of fly-tipping – where rubbish which is illegally dumped on the street – almost doubled between 2017 and 2018.

In 2017 fly-tipping was reported to the council 10,568 times and on 19,141 occasions in 2018. By June 2019 another 7620 concerns had already been logged with the local authority.

Glasgow City Council has said problems may arise when bulk-uplifts are not free of charge and residents refuse to pay the fees.

The local authority charge to uplift baths, boilers, water tanks, radiators, central heating systems, bricks, rubble, slabs and tiles – items which appear regularly on the streets.

A council spokesman also said that some reports of fly-tipping may occur when a passer-by doesn’t realise a request to remove the items on the street has already been made to the council.

The wards which seem to be the worst affected include Southside Central which had 1546 complaints registered in the last three years, and Langside which has had 1411 issues of fly-tipping since 2017.

Southside Central councillor Soryia Siddique believes the problems are as a result of budget cuts the council faces annually.

She said: “Southside Central includes Govanhill which is a pressurised area. Around four years ago a commitment was made for additional resources to address the fly tipping.

“Adequate resources combined with education and enforcement is expected to improve living standards in the area. Year after year of cuts to Glasgow’s budget, means there’s less money to fund needed services.

“Responsibility for that lies with the Scottish Government in Edinburgh. Glasgow deserves better.”

Glasgow City Council has confirmed that enforcement action will be taken against those who fly-tip. Fixed penalty notices of £200 may be used to those who illegally dump rubbish.

A spokesman said: “Fly-tipping is a blatant form of anti-social behaviour.

“Fly-tipping damages the environment, undermines communities and diverts scarce resources to clearing up after people who deliberately choose to dump their waste in unacceptable ways.

“It is a constant source of dismay and disgust that people selfishly continue to use parts of Glasgow as a personal cowp.

“The appalling thing is that there is absolutely no excuse for fly-tipping as our four major household waste recycling centres are open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

“We also continue to operate a bulk up-lift service that is free of charge for a wide range of items.

“We urge anyone who witnesses fly-tipping to report this to us and wherever we find evidence of who is responsible for individual acts of fly-tipping we will take enforcement action.”