Revealed: Thousands of fly-tipping and abandoned cars reported across Highland

The Highland Liberal Democrats are calling for the introduction of a new restitution order for fly-tipping offences which would enable courts to mandate offenders to financially contribute to cleaning up the mess caused by their crimes.

David Green, the Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Caithness, Sutherland & Ross, warned “from beauty spots to towns and villages across the Highlands, fly-tipping continues to be a widespread issue” and called for more to be done. 

It comes after an investigation by the Highland Liberal Democrats revealed 946 cases of fly-tipping were flagged to the Highland Council since 2020, but none were referred to the Procurator Fiscal. 

The party has also revealed 3,464 abandoned vehicles were reported to the Highland Council in the same period. The statistics show a sharp increase in the number of abandoned vehicles with 327 reported in 2020/2021 to 1291 in 2024/2025. 

Earlier this year, Forestry and Land Scotland said they have seen an increase in anti-social behaviour across the country after a string of vandalism and fly tipping. According to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, clearing up illegal dumping costs local authorities more than £2.5 million each year. 

The intervention follows attempts earlier this year by Highland Liberal Democrats on Highland Council to amend the administration’s budget to hire more staff to ramp up enforcement through fines of littering, fly-tipping, dog fouling and abandoning cars.

David Green, the Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Caithness, Sutherland & Ross, said:

“From beauty spots to towns and villages across the Highlands, fly-tipping continues to be a widespread issue. Yet despite how disgusting these incidents are, only a tiny fraction of cases at best result in a fine or a trip to court.

“After years of pressure from Scottish Liberal Democrats in Holyrood, I am pleased the Scottish Government increased the level of fines available. However, there remains a deep injustice that too often sees farmers and other business owners picking up the bill for clearing waste.

“Clearly not enough is being done to clamp down on this behaviour and ensure repeat offenders feel the full force of the law. That is why Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for new powers to enforce offenders to pay up for their mess.”

ENDS