Applications from Highland invited as £75k flytipping fund opens

18th July 2012

Applications are being invited for a new £75,000 fund, launched today by Zero Waste Scotland, to help transform local areas blighted by illegal flytipping.

Grants of between £500 and £10,000 will be available to community groups, landowners and land managers in the Highland area, who are consistently battling the problem of unlawfully dumped waste, such as furniture, TVs, white goods and garden and commercial waste.

Last year, over 50 applications were received, with the successful projects awarded grants to clear over 127 tonnes of waste from 21 problem sites across Scotland. As well as funding the clean-up, a range of measures were put in place, including fencing, barriers and site signage to help prevent future flytipping and protect the environment.

The scheme is administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful on behalf of Zero Waste Scotland, with support from the Scottish Flytipping Forum, and the deadline for applications is 31 August 2012.

Councillor Graham Phillips, Chairman of The Highland Council's Transport, Environmental and Community Services Committee urged community groups, landowners and land managers to consider applying for the Zero Waste Scotland's Flytipping Small Grants Scheme.

He explained: "Keeping our greatest natural asset - the beautiful Highland countryside - clean and tidy is often a major challenge for landowners as their land can be targeted by persistent dumpers. Until it happens to them, landowners often don't know that they are responsible for the cost of clearance of flytipping on their land. Highland Council is fully supportive of the Flytipping Small Grants Scheme and we hope that it will benefit landowners plagued by persistent flytipping in the Highlands. Where community groups organise local clean ups the council can continue to provide free uplift of rubbish collected."

Catherine Wilson, Litter and Flytipping Manager for Zero Waste Scotland said: "We had a huge response from the public following the launch of the fund last year, highlighting just how important it is to continue efforts to address flytipping.

"These grants will help to support those communities and landowners who are willing to take positive action to clean up dumping grounds and take measures to prevent it happening again.

"As we've seen from last year's projects, this money can make a real difference to sites which have been blighted by persistent flytipping, and we look forward to welcoming applications from communities across Scotland."

Derek Robertson, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful said: "As Scotland's charity for the environment Keep Scotland Beautiful is pleased to support Zero Waste Scotland with this work to tackle the very real damage done to communities by the indiscriminate flytipping of waste. We encourage communities across Scotland to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the fund to improve their local environment."

Applications to the fund can be made at http://www.dumbdumpers.org/smallgrantscheme