Lothian MSP Miles Briggs is supporting Scottish Conservative colleague Murdo Fraser MSPs plans to introduce a Members’ Bill to tackle fly-tipping.
Mr Briggs has highlighted the increase in fly tipping across Edinburgh and the Lothians over the last five years.
Incidents of fly tipping have become worse in Edinburgh and West Lothian in particular, with the number of fly tipping incidents in Edinburgh increasing from 7,439 in 2016 to 10,358 in 2020. In West Lothian the number of fly tipping incidents rose to from 1,404 in 2016 to 2,367 in 2020.
So far this year Edinburgh has had 7,599 incidents of fly tipping and West Lothian has had 1,795 incidents. [Figures from SPICe, see below]
Work has begun with the Scottish Parliament Non-Government Bills Unit on the new law, which would crack down on those caught fly-tipping by increasing fines and making offenders liable.
Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) have welcomed the intention to introduce a Bill to tackle the “scourge of fly-tipping”.
NFU Scotland also called for action on fly-tipping, branding it a “permanent scar on our natural environment”.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “The level of fly-tipping in Edinburgh and the Lothians has got out of control, with the number of incidents on the rise, especially in Edinburgh and West Lothian.
“It is clear that something needs to be done and the low number of penalties for fly tipping shows that the current sanctions are not working.
“I fully support my colleague Murdo Fraser’s bill to crack down on fly-tipping and change the liability of cleaning up fly-tipping, to those who have committed the crime, rather than the landowner.
“SNP Ministers have let fly-tipping in Scotland get out of control, so the Scottish Conservatives are introducing legislation to make a positive difference and crack down on fly-tipping.”
This data was provided by Zero Waste Scotland on behalf of the Local Authorities.
Table 1: The number of annual flytipping incidents in City of Edinburgh, West Lothian, East Lothian and Midlothian council, 2016 to 31 July 2021
| Year | City of Edinburgh | West Lothian | East Lothian | Midlothian |
| 2016 | 7,439 | 1,404 | 779 | 505 |
| 2017 | 5,701 | 1,590 | 654 | 651 |
| 2018 | 8,145 | 1,999 | 500 | 502 |
| 2019 | 9,322 | 2,089 | 487 | *352 |
| 2020 | 10,358 | 2,367 | 415 | 558 |
| 2021 (to 31 July) | 7599 | 1795 | 275 | 293 |
*Note: In 2019, there were 2 months with limited data available in Midlothian.