Litter purge begins in Highland communities

Those intent on dropping litter and fly tipping are being given advance notice that enforcement teams will be in Dingwall, Fort William and Inverness over the next two weeks beginning on Monday 25 October - and they will be adopting a zero tolerance approach.

Anyone found dropping litter or fly-tipping will be presented with an on-the-spot fixed penalty notice of £50.

The purge on littering follows a recent decision by The Highland Council to get tough on people who drop litter and fly-tip, shifting the focus from education to enforcement.

This will be the first of regular litter patrols to keep Highland streets tidy.

The number of fixed penalty notices issued will be published.

Councillor John Laing, Chairman of the TEC Services Committee, said: "We are giving those intent on dropping litter in Dingwall, Fort William and Inverness good notice of our vigilance on littering so no one will have any excuse for being spotted dropping litter or cigarette ends or fly-tipping. We will continue to work with the police and other agencies to promote a litter free Highlands."

Councillor Michael Foxley, Leader of the Council's Administration, fully supports the zero tolerance policy. He said: "While we continue pressing home the message in schools and in our communities, we now need to show that we mean business by taking enforcement action. We need to create a culture of cleanliness and this will be the first in an ongoing series of vigilance. There is a real potential to divert the significant sums we spend on cleaning up people's litter to other worthwhile services."

Provost Jimmy Gray, Chairman of the Council's Inverness City Committee, said: "Inverness depends so much on presenting a clean image to the many visitors who visit our city, therefore I fully support any move that will reduce the amount of litter on our streets. I would appeal to everyone to show respect for their community by keeping our streets free of litter."

The Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2024 introduced fixed penalty notices for littering and fly-tipping. The penalty is £50.