Stuart Allison, aged 53 and residing in Bearsden, has been fined £750 and ordered to pay Glasgow City Council £1,900 in compensation for the clean-up. Meanwhile, Steven Hutton, aged 44 and living in Coatbridge, has also been fined £750. Both individuals had pleaded guilty to an environmental breach.
According to the procurator fiscal depute, there was a significant unauthorised waste dumping that took place at Dalsetter Crescent in Glasgow between 10 June and 2 August 2020. Dalsetter Crescent is situated within a business development site in Drumchapel.
On 14 July 2020, environmental health officers from Glasgow City Council visited the site and discovered a large amount of household waste and tyres. They confiscated items of correspondence that contained names and addresses from the waste.
Police officers visited three of the addresses and spoke with the residents. Each of them stated that they had hired an individual who advertised their services on Facebook.
Fiona Caldwell, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime for the Crown Office, spoke after the sentencing and emphasised that fly tipping is a cause for real and legitimate concern among the public. She added that it is criminal behaviour that creates an eyesore, is expensive to clean up, and often falls to local councils to address.
Caldwell stressed that the illegal dumping of waste is inexcusable and that those who engage in this behaviour, such as Stuart Allison and Steven Hutton, show a disregard for the environment and undermine legitimate waste management companies. She concluded by stating that where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so, prosecution will occur.