Tens of thousands of fly-tipping cases have been reported in Glasgow in the last three years.

Official figures show that Glasgow City Council recorded 67,219 incidents since 2019.

The Liberal Democrats have obtained figures that also show how many ended up with fines or prosecutions.

In Glasgow, there were 209 fines issued for fly-tipping.

Glasgow Times:

Across Scotland there were more than 200,000 cases over the last three years.

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Local authorities recorded 207,960 incidents.

While few resulted in fines being issued, with 2467 people given fixed penalty notices.

The party said its research found only six councils passed cases on to the procurator fiscal and just one conviction was obtained, which was for an example in East Dunbartonshire.

Willie Rennie, the LibDems Communities spokesperson said: “From remote beauty spots to busy cities, these figures show that fly tipping is a blight on our beautiful country. Not only that but it can prove catastrophic for animals, plants and soil.

“The pandemic and the bin strikes disrupted refuse collections but there is also a fundamental unfairness in the present system, which sees farmers and other owners left with the responsibility for clearing up waste that has been dumped on their properties.

“We need to see local authorities using the powers at their disposal to clamp down on this disgusting behaviour and ensure that repeat offenders especially feel the full force of the law.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats also want to see increased support for farmers and those who bear the brunt of fly-tipping to help them with the clear-up costs. This should use the proceeds of a new restitution order which hits offenders’ pockets hard. This could see courts able to require a contribution from offenders to a new national fund available to help victims.”

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The Glasgow Times has highlighted a number of cases of illegal dumping at sites across the city.

Glasgow Times:

Cases of huge piles of rubbish dumped under motorway bridges and on derelict land have led to local people being angry at the unsightly environmental hazard.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “It is important to say that fly-tipping is an environmental crime and those responsible are liable to be fined. 

"This illegal activity damages the environment, undermines communities, and lowers both the quality of affected places in Glasgow and the quality of life of residents. 

"In recent times, our fly-tipping enforcement campaign has seen fines issued to those responsible. 

"During the campaign we targeted businesses without waste disposal contracts and pressed them to put in place proper arrangements for their waste, and we continue to work to restrict this practice in the city.”

Other agencies are involved in tackling serious breaches of fly-tipping laws.

Earlier this year the Glasgow Times reported how Glasgow City Council co-ordinated together with Police Scotland and SEPA to secure the conviction of a man duping tonnes of tyres at sites across the city.

Declan Clarke, 30, from Drumchapel was jailed for 11 months for dumping 51 tonnes of tyres at sites including one where they were set on fire disrupting flights at Glasgow Airport and on farmland outside the city.

The  Scottish Government said it was "determined to tackle the serious environmental and economic impacts that fly-tipping causes".
A spokesperson, said: "We have already announced plans to more than double fines and are also looking at the possibility of extending the use of civil penalties to enforce offences.
"We will also be publishing a new Litter & Flytipping Strategy in the new year, which will set how we will tackle these issues.
"We would encourage relevant public authorities to investigate fly-tipping on public and private land and to offer assistance to private landowners where they can."