WEST FIFERS have been warned to bin bad habits at a Dunfermline recycling point or have it removed.

The facility at Tesco Duloch has been dogged by problems since last Christmas when mountains of rubbish left the area inaccessible.

Items such as toilets, sofas and general household waste have all been dumped and fed-up council workers have been struggling to clear it.

Fife Council's environment, protective services and community safety committee chairperson, Councillor Ross Vettraino, said they had been working closely with Tesco management to try to stop the abuse of the recycling point by irresponsible members of the public.

"The vast majority of people use the facility properly but there is a minority, who are no more than environmental vandals and who regularly abuse the facility by contaminating the bins and indiscriminately dumping items that could be taken to the local recycling centre.

"What they are doing is fly-tipping, which is an offence and which incurs significant clean-up costs to the council as well as frustration for those who use the site properly and for the council’s partner, Tesco, who host the site.

“If the abuse of the site continues, Tesco may require the council to restrict its use to the provision of glass bins or may even require its removal altogether. 

"Both Tesco and the council want the facility to continue and the council, for its part, will ensure that the site is serviced more frequently, so that the bins do not become full and will employ a rigorous and intensive enforcement regime, which will see enforcement officers, who will take a zero tolerance approach, on duty throughout the day and during the night and at weekends."

He said mobile CCTV cameras will be used to catch offenders who could then be subjected to a £200 penalty for fly-tipping.

Dunfermline South councillor Fay Sinclair said: "Plenty of signs have been put up and there was an officer who stayed there for two full weeks to discuss issues," she said.

"There have been things like sofas, pushchairs, toilets. People are doing it because it is easy. Because it is serviced daily, they think the lorries are coming round anyway. 

"The council has done as much as they possibly can. It has got to the stage where local residents are sick of seeing it and Tesco are sick of seeing it.

"We also have special uplifts and the price of them have been reduced to £15 when it used to be £25. I do not buy the argument that the council should be doing more.

"There are a lot of options which are available and it comes down to selfishness."