Window firm hits back over fly-tipping claims

Jul 3 2008 by Sandra Walls, Hamilton Advertiser

THE Larkhall-based firm Clyde Windows and Conservatories this week hit back at claims by neighbours that they were responsible for a rubbish problem

The firm said they have been victims of fly-tipping since they moved into their premises, at Larkhall Industrial Estate, three years ago.

Owner of Clyde Windows, Dax Duckett is concerned his company are being blamed for the increasing amount of waste on an overgrown grassed area which borders neighbours back gardens on McCallum Road.

Mr Duckett explained that over the period of a year they spent more than £70,000 in the disposal of waste their site had generated.

He sold part of the land to developers 18 months ago and they plan to build a number of houses on land where rubbish has accumulated.

Mr Duckett said: “I am looking forward to the time when I can work on my premises and look out to a residential area, instead of the mess that myself and my staff have to look at every day, which is caused by people using the area as a dumping ground.

“When we moved to these premises, at units nine and 10, I would get my yard staff to lift the rubbish and household items that had been dumped.”

“However, it was costing a fortune, so I stopped it and contacted the South Lanarkshire Council’s Environmental Health and Dumb Dumpers over a dozen times to try and get them to do something about it.”

He said he was told by environmental health officers it was not worth taking those who had dumped the rubbish to court.

“I have also been told by them that they won’t uplift the items as the land is private, so it is totally unfair that neighbours have complained that it is my company that is causing the mess.”

When the Advertiser visited the site on Tuesday, there were many items of rubbish lying around that would not be generated by a window and conservatory company.

They included a TV and bike boxes, packaging, discarded loft insulation, cases, a baby chair, double beds, mattresses, a three-piece suite, a camping gas bottle, carpets, underlay and a bag containing empty bottles of beer.

Mr Duckett added: “I’m as keen as my neighbours to prevent this from happening and having the area cleared up.

“A resident from McCallum Road also arranged for his hedge to be cut down on the sites side of the fence. He cut around four feet of hedge away, leaving visible a lot of the rubbish which was under the hedge.

“Before it had been cut, it was completely inaccessible to us. Again, much of this rubbish came from fly-tipping.”

“I have five different skip companies who arrive daily to take away waste from my site; Biffa and JDS take away any general refuse, Viridor and All Clear take away the glass, and Tracey’s uplift the timber.

“Also, a company called Dekura uplift all UPVC offcuts and frames after they’ve been sorted for recycling at the yard.

“I employ 40 people on my premises and we turnover a lot of business and I ensure that anything to be uplifted is so.

“There is nothing made on my site that would cause a smell or rats, so I will not take any blame for these accusations.”

A council spokesman said this week the authority prosecute all reported incidents of illegal dumping where possible.

“If the materials are dumped on council-owned land then the council has a responsibility as the landowner to clear these materials,” he pointed out.

“Similarly if materials are dumped on private land and those who have dumped the items cannot be caught then it falls to the owner of the land to clear the dumped materials.”

He added that the environmental health service encourages people to report fly-tipping by calling 08457 406 080.