Fly-tipping in Dundee rises by a fifth as council warns of rogue traders
We're being warned unlicensed firms in the city are illegally dumping our waste.
We're being warned unlicensed firms in Dundee are illegally dumping our waste.
Tay News can reveal the number of fly-tipping incidents in the city have gone up by nearly a fifth in the last year.
It's raising concerns many of us are being duped by rogue traders.
John Higgins works in the enforcement operations team at SEPA.
"People will be driven by cost, if someone is offering you a price to do something regarding the waste you've got, if it feels too good to be true it probably is," he said.
"At the start of the pandemic crisis, we noticed an increase in the number of providers offering online services, marketing their ability to deal with waste people were accumulating both as businesses and at home.
"We have seen a number of online advertisers who aren't registered as carriers and we've engaged with those people in a number of ways.
It's really important people ask questions when they're engaging with businesses about whether they do have the right authority."
It's not known how many of us have been tricked by these offers.
Neighbourhood services convener Anne Rendall thinks victims are unlikely to come forward.
"It's quite a thing to report someone and say I actually paid them and thought I was doing the right thing," she said.
“Residents have good intentions but by using an unlicensed waste carrier, they risk their waste being fly-tipped, left in a greenspace or in a lay-by and the householder themselves may then face being issued a £200 fixed penalty notice.
“We are asking householders to take care when choosing a carrier to dispose of their waste and to make sure they are legitimate and will dispose of their waste in a legal, safe and sustainable way.
“Reputable traders will always be able to show that they have a licence to dispose of your waste properly. You should never feel intimidated to ask to see their licence.
“Everyone in the city has a shared responsibility for Dundee’s cleanliness and using licensed waste disposal firms contributes to maintaining that.”
There were 1080 fly-tipping incidents over 2020/21 fiscal year. This compares to 875 cases in the previous 12 months.