Buckie flytipping condemned after recycling waste collections put on hold
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
SCANT days after Moray Council announced they were suspending recycling bins collections due to the Covid-19 crisis flytipping has already been reported in Buckie.
Items of laminate flooring and clothing have been dumped on the road to the Gollachy recycling centre at Buckpool, which is currently closed for the foreseeable future, again as a result of the coronavirus impact.
A spokeswoman for Moray Council said flytipping only served to place a greater burden on the local authority as it battled to maintain services during the national emergency.
She continued: “We always condemn fly-tipping, but it’s even more frustrating at a time like this.
"We’ll have to divert our already stretched resources to tidy up this mess, rather than concentrate on continuing to empty as many of our residents brown and green bins as we can. As ever, we urge all residents to dispose of their litter responsibly.”
News of the flytipping was also condemned by local councillors Sonya Warren, Gordon Cowie and Tim Eagle.
"People need to respect and support our refuse and cleansing teams," Councillor Warren said.
"Even in normal times flytipping is an incredibly selfish and inconsiderate thing to do.
"However, in our current climate our refuse collectors are working away above and beyond normal expectations in very challenging circumstances. These folk are unsung heroes of this pandemic, they deserve all our support and respect.
"We should all be doing as much as we can do to make their job as easy as possible, not making it worse. The council is having to continue to provide services to the community in these very unusual and unprecedented circumstances; there are also large numbers of staff off ill.
"I would like to thanks the huge numbers of folk who are staying in and doing the right thing. This is a vicious virus and we all need to support essential key workers as much as we can and this includes not flytipping."
Councillor Cowie spoke of his great disappointment at the news.
"I'm very disappointed to hear about people deciding to fly tip but with all this upheaval and worry people are going through this should be the last thing on people's minds," he said.
"Remember Moray Council staff are still doing their best to work under severe stress trying to stay safe and keep things moving. The reason for recycling stopping during this pandemic is that the sources we transport the waste to are all closed and we don't have the facilities to store it.
"As you can imagine, everybody's recycling going to the one place would need a large area. You can cut up the plastic and flatten tins then they won't take up so much room in the bins and you can also use the bins for cans at the Moray reach Out Recycling depot at March Road.
"Once this lockdown is lifted the council will uplift any surplus. Please take a little responsibility is these trying times; we are all doing our bit so please no more fly tipping.
"Green bins and brown bins will be collected as normal."
Councillor Eagle said that people would be better served by staying at home than heading out to dump waste.
"I have asked the department to look at options to collect recycling but on a reduced frequency and I understand they will continue to look at options. Please remember the government advice is to stay home and only to travel for essential reasons.
"Travelling to dump rubbish either on the Gollachy road or in the countryside is not essential, it is not safe and it shows a complete disregard for our town and the countryside which surrounds it. I can only remind everyone that each day we have essential staff from many different places putting themselves at increased risk in order to provide healthcare and essential support.
"The only ask of the rest of us is to stay home, so please stop dumping, stay home apart from essential travel and we will all get through this.”
There was also widespread disgust at those responsible on local social media. Many confessed they were left "shocked" or "disgusted" by the news, with another urging people to "Keep your rubbish at home and stop damaging the countryside". One captured the mood of many by stating that the culprits had "no respect for their environment".
Flytipping can be reported on the Moray Council website or phone 0800 807 060.
For more local news, click here.
