A call has been made for tougher action to combat fly-tipping in Dumfries and Galloway.
Shocking new figures have revealed that there were 1,498 incidents of illegal dumping of rubbish in the region in the past three years.
But there have been no court convictions in that time.
And just five per cent of cases, 70, have resulted in the issuing of a fixed penalty fine.
The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Willie Rennie, the party’s communities spokesman, said: “Fly-tipping is a blight on our beautiful country. Not only that, but it can prove catastrophic for animals, plants and soil.”
He called for tougher action against offenders and more support for those affected, including farmers who can be left with the cost of clearing up rubbish illegally dumped on their land.
Mr Rennie added: “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 which has been dumped on their properties.”
He wants to see the creation of a new national fund available to help victims with offenders being forced to pay into it by courts.
Annandale Lib Dem councillor Richard Brodie yesterday blasted fly-tippers for littering Dumfries and Galloway’s beautiful countryside.
He said: “I think it’s a big problem for the region.
“There is disruption to the countryside and it looks unsightly with all this fly-tipping.
“The problem too is identifying the culprits who are doing it.
“But there have been some cases that have been successful in the past with fines locally in the region of £200 to £250.
“We had one case where the person stuffed letters with his address on it down a discarded sofa.”
The FoI figures revealed that there were 317 fly tipping incidents reported to Dumfries and Galloway Council in 2019/20 with 15 fines issued. In 2020/21 there were 657 cases with 37 fixed penalty notices issued. Eight cases were reported to the Procurator Fiscal but there were no prosecutions.
In 2021/22 there were 524 incidents, 18 fines issued and two cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
Across Scotland there were a total of 207,960 cases from 2019 to this year, with 2,467 fines being issued. One court conviction was secured.
Around 26,000 tonnes of trash is unlawfully disposed of on public land every year which costs around £11m to clean up.
A council spokeswoman said: “All instances of fly-tipping reported to the council that are on public land are investigated for evidence.
“This may allow us to track the perpetrator and successfully issue a fixed penalty notice.
“Our officers can issue a fixed penalty notice of £200 and can arrange for the rubbish to be removed. More serious offences can be prosecuted through the courts with fines of up to £40,000 and a prison sentence.”
She added: “In the vast majority of cases the waste is either white goods, mattresses, disused 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.”
The Crown Office was contacted for comment.
