Sharp rise in fly-tipping in the Southside

Fly-tipping are robbing Glasgow’s taxpayers, the city council has said, as figures show complaints are highest in Pollokshields, Langside, Southside Central and Hillhead.
Fly-tipping in the Southside is a "massive" problem.Fly-tipping in the Southside is a "massive" problem.
Fly-tipping in the Southside is a "massive" problem.

Statistics, compiled for each local authority ward, reveal how many complaints were made between April and September this year, with more than 1000 reports in four wards.

They have led to calls for stricter enforcement to crackdown on offenders.

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There has been 1236 complaints in Pollokshields so far this financial year, up from 940 during the same period last year.

In Langside, there has been 1204 reports, 1122 in Southside Central, 1062 in Hillhead and 905 in Govan, which has seen a 23 per cent increase in complaints.

The other three figures are slightly down on the same period in 2018.

Glasgow City Council, which collects rubbish dumped on public land, said, on some occasions, multiple reports are made or bulk up-lift items are reported as fly-tipping.

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The number of removals carried out by the council in Pollokshields between April and September is 430, 121 more than last year.

For Langside the figure is 451, a 13 per cent rise, while it’s 391 in Southside Central, down by 36 per cent.

In Hillhead, there has been 364 removals, down by 19 per cent, and 331 in Govan, which is a 7 per cent increase.

Crosshill and Govanhill community councillor Andrew Carberry said the fly-tipping problem in Govanhill, part of Southside Central, is “massive”.

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“We’re never ever going to stop that unless there’s strict enforcement,” he told a meeting of the Southside Central area partnership. “See if they dumped that stuff in Argyle Street, there would be something done then.

“We need to change the culture, right now it’s seen as acceptable to leave stuff in the street in Govanhill.”

He said, with over 50 languages spoken in Govanhill, it is not possible to print advice for everyone.

“Education only goes so far,” he added.

Between 2016 and 2019, the most affected streets in Glasgow were Paisley Road West, Langside Road, Great Western Road, Dumbarton Road and Allison Street.

Complaints rose from 10,568 in 2017 to 19,141 last year.

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At the Pollokshields area partnership, Bailie Norman MacLeod said some residents had problems getting through to the council on the phone to report issues.

A council spokesman said: “Fly-tipping is a blatant form of anti-social behaviour.

“It damages the environment, undermines communities and diverts scarce resources to clearing up after people who deliberately choose to dump their waste in unacceptable ways.

“Fly-tippers are literally dumping on Glasgow and robbing the city’s taxpayers into the bargain.

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“Sadly, it is no longer a surprise that people continue to treat Glasgow as their own, personal dumping ground, but it is a constant source of dismay and disgust.

“The appalling thing is that there is absolutely no excuse for fly-tipping as our four, major household waste recycling centres are open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

“We also continue to operate a bulk up-lift service that is free of charge for a wide range of items.

“We urge anyone who witnesses fly-tipping to report this to us and where ever we find evidence of who is responsible for individual acts of fly-tipping we will take enforcement action.”

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The recycling centres are at Polmadie, Shieldhall, Dawsholm and Queenslie.

Complaints from April to September 2019 in the Southside:

Pollokshields – 1236

Langside – 1204

Southside Central – 1122

Greater Pollok – 142

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