Zero tolerance campaign spreads to all major Highland communities

A ‘zero tolerance’ campaign on litter and fly-tipping undertaken by The Highland Council will see seven more towns in the Highlands put under the microscope.

Dingwall, Fort William and Inverness were the focus of a two-week purge at the beginning of December during which time Council enforcement officers issued 26 £50 fixed penalty notices, the large majority for the dropping of cigarette butts.

For two weeks, commencing on Monday 17 January, enforcement officers will be operating in Wick, Thurso, Invergordon, Alness, Nairn, Grantown and Aviemore as well as Dingwall, Inverness and Fort William.

Councillor Brian Murphy, Vice-Chairman of Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee, said the Council was committed to a policy of zero tolerance on littering and fly-tipping and would conduct community crackdowns on a regular basis.

He said: “We are determined to get the message across that dropping litter is a criminal offence. It is vitally important to ensure that we reduce the amount of litter dropped on our streets. We spend £2.5 million per year on litter picking. With less litter to pick, we can divert our staff into other more productive duties.

“Our second campaign is being extended to another seven communities in the Highlands. We are giving advance warning of our activity so that the public can have no excuse if caught littering or fly tipping.  Our enforcement officers will have no hesitation in serving a £50 fixed penalty on anyone who breaks the law.”

The Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 introduced fixed penalty notices for littering and fly-tipping.