Flytippers are flooding an east end street with the threat of fines failing to deter them.
Dozens of bin bags full of rubbish, mattresses, tyres and rolls of carpet have been tossed down an embankment just metres from a community allotment and a popular public park in Riddrie.
Shocking pictures show how illegal dumpers have been slinging their mess over a bridge into greenery on Gadie Street, near the Provan Road entrance to Alexandra Park. On the streets nearby, bin bags have also been dropped near to the public path and a couch abandoned on a street corner.
Just a short distance away, underneath a sign explaining how bulk uplift services work in the city, a children's television, bar stool, and bags of food waste have been left.
Another sign by Glasgow City Council stating that the site is being monitored and any dumping could result in a £20,000 fine is being ignored by tradesmen allegedly coming at night to empty their vans.
The mess is one of several areas of the city blighted by fly-tippers, months away from the city COP26 summit.
Glasgow currently spends twice the national average by head of the population on street cleansing and around £100 million on environmental protection. Each year around £100m is spent on environmental protection with waste collection and disposal accounting for most of this budget.
The council has invested £10m in new household waste services and spent £3m on 5000 new, larger street bins with the aim of allowing staff more time for other street cleansing tasks such as litter picking, sweeping or fly-tipping removal.
Concerns about the state of the city have been raised by cleansing workers and opposition politicians.
GMB Branch 40 convenor Chris Mitchell believes that reduced refuse collections during the pandemic and the introduction of the bulk uplift charge are contributing to the issue and has declared a 'major health and safety breach'.
Glasgow Greens councillor Jon Molyneux said that better enforcement by the council and more education on fly-tipping must be implemented.
A Glasgow City Council added: “As acknowledged by Amey, it is their responsibility to remove the waste from their site and make it secure to prevent further fly-tipping.
“As also indicated by their statement, it is not ordinary, individual members of the public who are fly-tipping their waste at this location.
“It is also clear that those dumping waste at a site next to two motorways have access to vehicles that could easily be used to convey their rubbish to one of the four public waste centres in the city.
“Everyone has a responsibility to dispose of their waste appropriately and law is clear that that fly-tipping is an environmental crime.
“Disposing of waste properly will maximise the chances of that waste being recycled.
“As agreed by all political parties at the council, Glasgow’s new waste strategy aims to reduce the waste produced by the city and increase the re-use and recycling of unwanted items.
“Extending the life of unwanted items helps to reduce their carbon impact and will play a part in Glasgow’s effort to tackle the climate emergency.”
