ROGUE traders fly-tipping in West Fife have stooped to a new low – expecting legitimate businesses to pay to clean up their mess.

That’s the view of a recycling services company which said a Rosyth chip shop was hit by the cheap trick last week after items including an ice-lolly fridge were dumped at the back of their premises.

Recycle Wysely posted about the incident after they were called to remove the items, with owner Keith Wyse reminding customers the onus is on them to ensure their rubbish is being disposed of properly.

He said: “Fly-tipping is getting out of hand. When I go out for a walk with my children I see washing machines and all sorts lying about.

“I think there should be much tougher penalties but I also think Fife Council’s decision to start charging for trade waste last year was a big mistake.”

Last August the council revealed that getting rid of commercial waste was costing them more than £1.5 million a year.

As a result councillors agreed on changes that would see the local authority fully recover the costs of disposing of trade waste from businesses.

There were fears that a new payment system and tougher measures would lead to fly-tipping when the policy was introduced on January 1 of this year.

Keith, who started his business based in Cowdenbeath in October last year, said those fears have been realised and that he often gets messages from people asking if he can pick up rubbish that has been dumped on a street or elsewhere.

And he warned of the ‘man in the van’ businesses that advertise on social media, offering to get rid of rubbish for extremely cheap prices.

He said: “I get a lot of messages from people saying they’ve found someone who will do it for £25. I’m quite blunt and I tell people that wouldn’t even pay for the fee to dispose of the waste. I simply can’t do it for that price.

“All people are really interested in though is how little they can pay and that is the problem. You’re actually being ripped off because they’re not disposing of it and if the council find out it’s yours then you will get fined.

“I know of a company that did get caught for fly-tipping and now they’ve just got a new sign on their van. I can understand people wanting something for the cheapest price but it’s at the expense of the environment.”

He added: “I would like to clean up Fife but unfortunately that would cost a fee! It’s become a joke though where ever you go there’s stuff lying there. It’s frustrating.

“I am fully licensed and I think I offer a competitive price but you get these people coming in with ridiculously cheap prices.

“They just pop up on Facebook but then they’re gone again. They are not registered.

“I contacted SEPA and they asked me to collate information but I haven’t really got the time and isn’t that their job? They need to clamp down on the ‘man in the van’.”

That was a call made earlier this month in the Press by Dunfermline councillor Gavin Ellis.

He said: “When someone’s fly-tipping in the country, nine times out of 10 it’s not a resident that can’t get onto a civic site, it’s the ‘man in a van’ who offers to get rid of your waste for you and then just dumps it.

“It’s a problem across the country.”