Fly-tipper seen while dumping her fridge

A WOMAN was seen dumping a fridge on the A7 last Saturday.

It was reported by the person, who witnessed the fly-tipping, to councillor Ronnie Tait.

It happened at 12.36pm in the first lay-by on the A7 going south.

Mr Tait said: “Unfortunately, the person, who saw her, had a smart phone malfunction so there is no photographic evidence and the woman was not known to her.

“I took photos after I was informed of this criminal activity by the witness.”

People can pay the council to collect and dispose of large domestic appliances such as fridges and washing machines.

It costs £39.91 to collect up to three items, which include fridges, freezers, washing machines, cookers, tumble dryers and microwave ovens.

Residents are advised to check the council can uplift the items when making a request. Call 030 33 33 3000 and pay by credit or debit card.

The council will let them know which day the items will be uplifted so they can have them ready for collection.

They need to put the items at their usual waste collection point by 7.30am on the day of collection.

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s new kerbside waste and recycling service will be rolled out in Eskdale during this month and next.

Council officials are urging the public to carefully follow recycling guidelines after discovering non-recyclable ‘contamination’ in some of the initial collections in the west of the region.

This included plastic wrappers, cling film, carrier bags, coat hangers and film lids from ready meal trays.

Mixing these items with recyclable plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, metal cans and cartons reduces the quality of the collected materials and can prevent an entire load from being recycled as well as causing damage to waste sorting equipment.

After the initial public information campaign about the new recycling service, supported by Zero Waste Scotland, the council plans to publicise further the guidelines to minimise the level of contaminants going into recycling bins.

Councillor Andy Ferguson, communities committee chairman, said: “We’re delighted with the initial public response to the new kerbside recycling service but it’s now important for households to ensure they are recycling only suitable items.

“All non-recyclable items, including plastic wrappers, biscuit wrappers, crisp packets, cling film, carrier bags and ready meal film lids should be disposed of in the non-recyclable bins.

“The recycling advice on packaging is not always in line with the requirements for our new service so I urge residents to follow the guidance in the booklets sent to households or check this on our website.

“If in doubt, people should leave it out of their recycling bins.”

Councillor John Martin, Vice Chair of the Council’s Communities Committee, also noted: “While this has been an issue in only a tiny fraction of the initial collections, putting non-recyclable contaminant items in the new recycling bins reduces the quality of materials being collected. This can also create additional transport, sorting and disposal costs, taking council resources away from other projects which can benefit our community.”

More information, including a full A-Z list of what can be placed in each bin or recycled at a household waste recycling centre, is at www.dumgal.gov.uk/wasterecycling