A NEW scheme has been launched to tackle the menace of flytipping.

 

The FlyMapper website will help local authorities and other land managers build up a detailed picture of where items are being dumped illegally.

The launch comes the day after the Evening Times revealed the number of fines slapped on litter louts and flytippers in Glasgow has rocketed by more than 85% in the last three years.

Recent figures, which Zero Waste Scotland believe could be much higher, estimate 61,000 items or around 26,000 tonnes of good are flytipped every year in Scotland costing the public nearly £9million a year to clean up.

Better reporting from local authorities through using the new app will give a more accurate picture of the amount of flytipping happening across Scotland.

FlyMapper works by allowing users to upload information, including photographs, on the spot when they are out and about using a mobile application.

These reports then build up a detailed visual display and feed into an online map and database allowing problem areas to be identified and action to be targeted.

This will give a much more accurate picture of the extent of flytipping at all levels, from street level to nationwide.

The status of each incident can be tracked and all the data centralised in an easy-to-use website.

Flytipping is illegal dumping of waste from a bin bag of household rubbish to large quantities of domestic, commercial or construction waste.

FlyMapper was developed by Zero Waste Scotland and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and tested in a number of council areas including Glasgow.

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, described the new app as a sophisticated but practical system which will greatly help local authorities track and deal with flytipping incidents.

He said: "The public views flytipping as extremely serious, as does Zero Waste Scotland. As well as being a blight on local areas, it is a waste of resources which could be reused or recycled. Dumping items inconsiderately causes frustration in many communities.

"We have had a fantastic response to the system so far from our user group and we look forward to talking to all of Scotland's 32 local authorities about using FlyMapper, which is totally free, from April 1."

Willie Wilson, national waste and enforcement operations manager with SEPA, said: "Flytipping is illegal, a blight on communities, and a risk to our environment.

"SEPA is committed to tackling waste crime, and the FlyMapper app will be a valuable addition to the toolbox available to us and our partners to target this social and environmental menace."

Alistair Watson, Glasgow City Council's sustainability and transport spokesman, said: "We are committed to helping people recycle as much as they can and also cut down on the waste they produce.

"However, there is a minority of people who think it is acceptable to dump unwanted items wherever they please.

"Flytipping is a particularly offensive environmental crime and while illegally dumped rubbish is cleared by our rapid response teams as and when it is identified, this new app allows our enforcement officers to target hot spot areas more effectively and the information gathered helps build a clearer picture of where these locations are across the city.

"These areas are now being targeted by our officers and enforcement action will be taken against those responsible for blighting our city with fly tipping."

Fly tipping cases should be reported to Clean Glasgow on 0300 343 7027.