WEST FIFE politicians have joined forces in a bid to tackle fly-tipping.

Dunfermline MSP Shirley-Anne Sommerville said it's causing problems in areas such as Duloch, where residents have become concerned about the large amounts of rubbish being dumped on a regular basis.

Councillor Fay Sinclair joined her on a visit to the recycling point at the Tesco Extra store on Calais Farm Road to highlight the issues.

Ms Somerville said: “Whilst the vast majority of people in Dunfermline recycle responsibility, there is unfortunately a small minority who don’t follow the rules.

“Having visited the recycling point in Duloch on numerous occasions, it’s apparent that some individuals have chosen to continuously dump household and business waste there.

“This is a burden on council services and it makes the area look untidy.

"I would appeal to everyone to follow the rules and recycle responsibly. Please do not leave items which are clearly not for recycling such as kitchen appliances or childrens’ toys, which I saw on my last visit.”

Ms Sinclair, who represents Dunfermline South, added: “This issue is something that I am acutely aware of and it has unfortunately persisted for a while now.

“I have been in correspondence with Fife Council’s environmental services to ask what is being done, to ensure that the recycling point in Duloch is being properly maintained.”

Mark McCall, safer communities service manager, said: “Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities and we will take action against people who fail to dispose of their waste appropriately by way of a fixed penalty notice of £200.

"Our recycling teams continue to visit the Duloch site every day to service the bins and to make sure that any fly-tipping is reported and investigated.

“We’d encourage people to recycle their waste and use our recycling points and recycling centres and consider the impact of fly tipping which is unsightly and can cause a public health issue.”