Cracking down on the litter louts and rogue fly-tippers

More than 900 tonnes of litter are dropped in North Lanarkshire each year, which costs the council over £5 million to pick up.

The Scottish Government has launched the Towards a Litter-free Strategy, which aims to reduce litter and fly-tipping and increase recycling, The campaign highlights some of the consequences of littering, including a fixed penalty fine of £80.

Council officers patrol town centres and communities across North Lanarkshire and are issuing on-the-spot fines of £80 to anyone they catch littering.

The fines increased from £50 on April 1, when the fine for flytipping also rose from £50 to £200.

Councillor Helen McKenna, convener of the council’s environmental services committee, said:“The millions of pounds we spend on picking up litter and removing fly-tipping dropped by irresponsible people would be far better used on improving local services for everyone.

“And the solution is very simple – put your rubbish in a bin or take it home. If you have larger items to get rid of just phone the council for a special uplift or take it to one of our recycling centres for free.

“If everyone does the right thing we’ll all enjoy safer, cleaner communities.”

North Lanarkshire residents can report fly-tipping by reporting incidents at www.dumbdumpers.org, by calling 0845 2 30 40 90 or contacting the council on 01698 403110.