A NEW bin inspection team set up to tackle illegal disposal of trade waste in the Scottish capital has found many are failing to comply with regulations.
The Edinburgh City Council team found that only 41 per cent currently comply with trade waste disposal rules since being set up at the start of September.
The team has so far have visited 191 premises and of these 79 were compliant.
Of those inspected 112 could not produce a trade waste contract at the time of the visit and were issued with a legal notice giving them seven days to have one in place before potentially facing prosecution.
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The team has also issued four £200 fixed penalty notices to businesses for illegally depositing waste on the street.
Lesley Hinds, Edinburgh's environment convener, said: “I have been very surprised by the low figures of compliance as all businesses have a legal responsibility to dispose of their waste responsibly.
“The team’s initial focus has been to visit commercial properties in areas that are served by communal bins, to identify any businesses that are using those to dispose of their waste at the expense of the taxpayer.
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"By issuing warnings and in some cases fines we hope to see a vast improvement in these areas."
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