More than half a million flytipping reports but just 5 convictions

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has said his party would formally request that serious waste crime become a strategic priority for the National Crime Agency, as he revealed that there have been just 5 convictions for flytipping in Scotland, despite more than 500,000 reports.

Freedom of information requests submitted by the Scottish Liberal Democrats to local authorities revealed:

• 505,616 reports of flytipping between 2019 and 2025, including 55,041 reports in 2025/26 so far.
• 2024/25 was the worst recorded year for flytipping, with 88,298 reports.
• Of all reports since 2019, just 113 were passed to the Procurator Fiscal, while only 5 resulted in convictions.
• In 2025/26 so far, Glasgow City Council has received the highest number of flytipping reports (20,813) but issued just 93 fixed penalty notices.
• Despite receiving the highest number of flytipping reports since 2019 (171,748), Glasgow has never passed a report to the Procurator Fiscal.
• Since 2019, only ten councils have passed flytipping reports to the Procurator Fiscal and only four have obtained a conviction.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a reserved body with UK-wide remit. In determining the strategic priorities of the NCA, the Home Secretary must consult with Scottish ministers. Scottish Liberal Democrats would use this process to formally request that the NCA make serious waste crime a strategic priority.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would also establish a new restitution order. The order would enable courts to require offenders to pay into a pot with the funds made available to help victims.  

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“The SNP are letting Scotland become a free-for-all dumping ground. The almost non-existent consequences for flytippers risks emboldening them and making the situation worse.

“For too long, waste gangs have pocketed millions in illegal earning, poisoning our environment and messing up neighbourhoods.

“Scotland deserves better, which is why my party wants serious waste crime made a strategic priority for the National Crime Agency, helping to stop these waste gangs in their tracks.

“The cost to clear up flytipping can be punishing, so the costs for offenders should be too. Our plans for a new restitution order would hit offenders' pockets hard with the money used to support farmers and others who bear the brunt of flytipping.  

“In May, no matter where you live in Scotland, you can vote for these plans by backing the Scottish Liberal Democrats on your second, peach-coloured, regional ballot paper.”