Organisations in Moray, including the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), will be meeting soon to discuss the best way to deal with the problem of fly-tipping. Everything from grass cuttings to burnt-out cars can be seen at various ‘hot-spots’ around the Moray countryside. As well as being an eyesore, the illegally dumped waste can be a danger to the environment and human health.

Representatives of SEPA, The Moray Council, the Crown Estate, Seafield Estates, Forest Enterprise and Grampian Police will meet in Elgin at the end of the month to discuss options for minimising the problem.

Neil McDougall, the Team Leader of SEPA’s Elgin office, said: “It’s very difficult to catch fly-tippers in the act, so we have to look at ways of preventing it in the first place. We also have to consider the most practical methods of dealing with rubbish that has been illegally disposed of. One of the issues we’ll be discussing is how the general public can help us, for example, by telling us as quickly as possible when they see fly-tipping taking place.”

Seafield Estates, which owns land around Moray, has had to clear away car seats, builders’ rubble, furniture and other waste. Chief Executive Sandy Lewis commented: “Two major incidents in May required the estate handyman to check, report and remove the rubbish. So, we incurred costs for eight hours labour, a digger, transport to the landfill site and disposal fees. Even worse, last year someone dumped a sizeablesizable fishing net over a dyke and into a thick crop. It became caught in the workings of an estate combine harvester causing damage worth £10,000.”


ENDS