Flytipping has taken place at Helensburgh’s pier car park – as the council warns that dumpers could be punished for such incidents.
An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson confirmed that flytippers had dumped rubbish at the recycling site at the car park, as well as placing household waste in litter bins.
The confirmation came after the authority issued a statement urging residents not to “put workers and the community at risk” by flytipping.
The statement detailed an incident in a Lochgilphead car park where glass bottles were left at a public recycling point despite a glass collection skip lying almost empty a few feet away.
It is not clear how much rubbish was involved in the incidents at Helensburgh, or how often they have occurred.
The council spokesperson said: “Sadly, there have been instances of flytipping at the pier car park recycling point and also household waste has been placed in litter bins.”
Helensburgh Councillor Aileen Morton, the authority’s leader, said: “It’s really unfortunate that a very small number of local residents have behaved selfishly in recent weeks – whether that’s fly tipping or leaving dog waste lying about.
“It’s not fair on other local residents or on the council’s waste teams, especially when you consider the additional risks that Covid-19 has brought to every interaction.
“However, it’s clear that the vast, vast majority of our local community are doing their best to support each other and behave responsibly and we shouldn’t lose sight of that.”
Norman Muir, convenor of Helensburgh Community Council, said: “Flytipping is not a new phenomenon and I would expect ABC to have built up some intelligence on likely dumping places and some form of observation to try and apprehend the offenders and cut down the prevalence of the offence.
“Having said that, if litter disposal outlets are unavailable there may be a degree of desperation to get rid of litter any way possible.
“Argyll and Bute Council’s laudable initiative to adjust the bin collection must have greatly helped households to keep on top of litter and avoid a build-up.
“The logical next step would have been to arrange the recycling centres to open at specified times to discourage flytipping, however the ramifications of staffing and further onward disposal of refuse in the chain may prevent this.”
The council is emptying public recycling collection points for glass, plastic and cardboard at least every four weeks and anybody using them is asked to respect social distancing measures.
Household bins are also being emptied every two weeks, with recycling and general waste being collected simultaneously.
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