A tyre fly tipper who illegally dumped over 51 tonnes of tyres around locations in Glasgow has been jailed for 11 months.
Declan Clarke pleaded guilty to the offences, which took place in June and October 2020. It is estimated that the clearing up of the tyres cost the taxpayer around £130,000. One dump was set alight, with smoke causing the cancellation of flights from Glasgow airport.
The Daily Record reports that Clarke was charging garages in the area between £1 and £2 to remove old tyres. The tyre fly tipper would then dump the rubber around Dalsetter Crescent and Gartloch Farm.
“Declan Clarke was an opportunistic criminal using his illegitimate business to collect tonnes of rubbish for a fee before just dumping them across the city,” stated Sergeant Nigel McDonald, from Drumchapel police station. “Not only did this end up costing significant sums for the authorities to clear up, but there has been serious and long-lasting environmental damage to a number of areas where tyres or waste were heaped and set on fire.
‘Too hot to handle’
On 20 November 2020 police executed a search warrant for Clarke’s home and found him hiding from officers under a bed.
Further investigations revealed a van parked outside his flat which was found to be full of tyres.
A mobile was also recovered which was found to contain messages between the tyre fly tipper and owners of vehicle garages and tyre fitters in which the collection of tyres was discussed.
In one message dated 18 November 2020 he stated, “it’s getting a bit hot to get rid of them.”
Stephen Egan, Glasgow City Council’s Head of Parks and Streetscene, laid part of the blame with the workshops and fitters that passed their waste on to Clarke.
“[Those] that passed their waste to this individual will have known the deal being offered was too good to be true and should have made sure their waste was disposed of lawfully,” he stated. “To protect our shared environment, we all have a responsibility to dispose of our waste in the proper manner at all times.”
