Livingstone is fly-tipping hotspot

The problem is so bad trees have had to be cut down because of a fungal infection spread through garden waste - including some which are decades old. 

In total, 25 beech and sycamore trees at the Woodland Trust’s Dedridge Wood in the West Lothian town are dead or dying from aan outbreak of Phytophthora cambivora.

Ten have already been felled, while a further 15 have been earmarked for the axe. The trees are thought to be around 60 years old.
The Trust say the trees pose a risk to public safety as they may drop limbs as they die.

READ MORE: New campaign aims to tackle fly-tipping in rural Scotland

Fully matured trees were felled 

The annual bill for clearing up the illegally dumped mess on land the Trust owns across the UK and takes care of was £200,000 in 2018 - and over the last five years clean-ups have totalled £1.1 million.

Some £16,716 was spent clearing waste from woods in Livingston. The total would have been even higher had it not been for the efforts of over 100 volunteers including children who took part in six litter picks removing 16 skips of waste in total.

Phytophthora cambivor is also known to undermine root systems so infected trees can be at risk of toppling completely. They have to be felled to avoid risk to the public in what is a busy area near a school.

Once the trees are felled the area will be replanted with native shrub and small tree species that are not susceptible to the infection, including willow, hazel and hawthorn.

READ MORE: One million Scots living in 'dirty' towns as council cuts sees fly-tipping soar​

Woodlands are being used for hundreds of incidents of tipping and littering, with waste found ranging from fridge freezers and mattresses to carpeting, the remains of a garden wall and oil drums.

In some of the more bizarre incidents, the trust found a bath and even a shrine with a sheep’s head.

In 2018 there were 1,290 separate fly-tipping and littering incidents, 292 of which occurred in Scottish woodlands, the charity said.

The worst region in England was the north, where the trust had to undertake 576 clean-ups of illegal waste, at a cost of more than £63,900.

Other blackspots last year were Smithills Estate in Bolton where more than £11,000 was spent on clearing up mostly fly-tipping, while just over £8,000 was spent at Hainault, London and almost £6,000 at Windmill Hill, near Runcorn, Cheshire.

The Woodland Trust Scotland’s site manager Jean Frame said yesterday: “It is heartbreaking that we have to lose much-loved big old trees like this. 

“We would appeal to residents to make the flytipping habit history in 2019. Woodland adds so much to the character of the community it would be tragic to lose more of it because of such selfishness.”

She added: “Sadly garden waste is a big problem in Livingston with large amounts of plant cuttings, grass and soil being dumped in our woods each year.

This provides an ideal way for disease to move from one site to another. We implore people not to dump garden waste in our woods -- or any other woods.

If you see people dumping garden waste in our woods you can report it to the police on 101 or through Dumb Dumpers.”

READ MORE: New Loch Lomond Police Scotland litter clampdown​

The Trust manages some 60 woods across Scotland. New figures released today show that in 2018 it spent £23,508 on clearing up litter and flytipping at its Scottish woods.

Woodland Trust Scotland spokesman George Anderson said: “That is money we could be spending on planting new woods or working with children to give them an appreciation of nature.”

As well as garden refuse, dumped items include old Christmas trees, car tyres, carpets, fridges, and filthy mattresses.