Shocking pictures show 'van loads' of eyesore waste piles dumped at Edinburgh locations overnight

Shocking pictures have emerged of eyesore waste piles in various parts of Edinburgh which are thought to have been dumped overnight.

Bin bags, bed frames and mattresses, takeaway boxes and a shopping trolley were among the rubbish pictured in Wester Drylaw Place on Thursday.

And another image shared online showed several old sofas and other furniture dumped at a bus stop next to Lochend Boxing Club, at about 1:30am on Thursday.

The picture was shared by an eye-witness alongside a post which read: "Had duct tape over reggy plate, this is getting worse."

It is believed the spate of fly-tipping is a result of rogue groups posing as legitimate waste disposal companies taking business at cut prices.

A spokesman for TRIM and Friends of West Pilton, which posted the images of the rubbish in Drylaw, said it was dumped overnight during dark hours when it's less noticeable.

The spokesman said: "We strongly suggest that people using any companies to get rid of rubbish make sure they are a registered organisation and are not rogue traders.

"This is part of a citywide issue. It's happened numerous times across Edinburgh through the years."

In response to the image in Drylaw posted on twitter, local councillor Hal Osler said the incident was being attended to and is "part of a wider investigation."

She added: "Poor residents have been putting up with terrible “fly tipping” for months. It’s horrendous & is really starting to get people down. Last lot cleared in Jan 2 has been replaced by this."

An Edinburgh City Council spokeswoman said that they are aware of the two incidents and environmental teams will be clearing it shortly.

However, trading standards are not investigating any reports of rogue traders in relation to waste dumping at this time.

Edinburgh 'deserves better'

Cllr Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “Fly-tipping is not just illegal, it’s a blight on communities and nobody should have to put up with it in Edinburgh. We will investigate both incidents and will take the strongest possible legal action if we track down the person/people responsible.

"All of us have a responsibility and a legal duty to dispose of our waste properly. We’ve got three Household Waste Recycling Centres across the city where people can dispose of large items of household waste and we operate a low-cost special uplift service to help residents to dispose of furniture legally.

“I’m so grateful to residents for their vigilance in calling out and reporting this behaviour, helping us tackle the scourge of fly-tipping. This is the city saying we’re not going to tolerate it, because our Edinburgh deserves better."

In June last year, the Evening News revealed that the number of reports of rubbish dumped in the Capital by fly-tippers had more than tripped in six years.

Figures obtained under freedom of information laws show fly-tipping incidents reported in Edinburgh to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency rose from 44 in 2013 to 134 in 2018 - the equivalent to one every three days.

Further analysis of waste dumped between August 2017 and December 2018 revealed furniture and other household rubbish and construction materials to be the most common.