Lugar: East Ayrshire fly-tipping issue angers residents

It's claimed that at least 50 bags of rubbish were found near the Glenmuir river, which is a popular spot for walkers and nature enthusiasts.

Fly-tipping is defined by law as "the illegal deposit of any waste on to land, i.e. waste dumped or tipped on a site with no licence to accept waste".

The reported issue. (Image: Submitted)

Anyone caught fly-tipping can be issued with a fixed penalty and/or prosecuted. 

Those convicted can be fined up to £40,000 and/or sentenced to up to six months in prison.

One resident in Lugar said that it's a "huge problem" in the area.

They said: "When we went up the Glenmuir, there was a soda can and other rubbish dumped beside the bridge.

"When looking over it we saw at least 50 black bin bags had been dumped in the river with some floating downstream that we couldn't count.

"I'm sure if someone got down there they would find who dumped it as it looks like paperwork that's visible, and delivery packaging. 

"We spoke to one of the farmers we know, who told us only last week a van had dumped a load of stuff beside the old conveyor belt site. He had to get in touch with the council to get cleared up. 

"Only last week, the public bin at the entrance to Logan had bags dumped at it, with the contents lying all over the pavement, including used sanitary products.

"I reported it immediately, but it lay like that for most of the day before it was cleared. 

"I have no words. It's absolutely disgusting. Something needs to be done about this as it's now a huge problem."

An East Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: "East Ayrshire Council can confirm that a report has been received regarding fly-tipping in the Lugar area and investigations are ongoing."

According to the environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, Scotland sees more than 61,000 incidents of fly-tipping each year - almost 170 every day.

In addition to the penalties for those convicted of fly-tipping, earlier this year the fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping in Scotland was increased from £200 to £500.

It's estimated that the cost of clearing fly-tipping from council-owned land alone in Scotland is more than £11 million a year.

Keep Scotland Beautiful's chief executive, Barry Fisher, said: “Each piece of waste dumped on our streets and in our countryside, has been left by a person who doesn’t see the value in it. 

"Making people aware of the wider impacts their behaviour has on our environment and our economy is important, as is making it easy for people to do the right thing when disposing of waste that can’t be recycled, repurposed, or reused.”

For a guide on how and who to report flytipping, litter and graffiti go to www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/report.