The crime can lead to fines of up to £40,000, and the move is part of a crackdown that will see offenders fined up to £500 by council officers.

The tougher approach comes after funding has been secured to tackle the culprits head on as fly-tipping remains an ever-present issue across South Lanarkshire and across Scotland.

This special funding will allow more officers from Environmental Health to be deployed to investigate fly-tipping with action taken when evidence is found.

Kevin Carr, the council’s Executive Director of Community and Enterprise Resources said: “Fly-tipping has become such a problem across our area, with so much money and time being wasted on clearing up after those who think it is still fine to dump their waste rather than dispose of it properly, and legally.

“To further enhance the council’s It’s Your Place campaign, this funding will allow us to more proactively go after those who are breaking the law by fining or taking those responsible to court.

“Our Environmental Health team have been able to increase their investigations and will gather more evidence to enable more prosecutions with those found guilty facing fines of up to £40,000.”

The council is also advising businesses and individuals to not dispose of their waste other than through the household waste and recycling centres or via other legitimate waste contractors.

Accepting ‘cheap’ alternatives provided by unregistered individuals to dispose of waste usually results in fly-tipping.

Kevin Carr added: “We cannot tackle this problem alone, so we are asking everyone to play their part to make South Lanarkshire a cleaner place to live, work and visit.”

Residents are also being reminded that any additional material that cannot fit in their wheelie bins should be taken to any of the council’s household waste and recycling centres or taken away by requesting a bulk uplift.

For more information on reporting issues and what you can do to help keep your community clear from waste please go to our Fly-tipping information pages and also our Recycling and re-using pages for details on what you can do with unwanted items rather than simply just throwing them away.

The investment is part of an almost £40 million funding boost after political groups came together to agree the Budget for People and Place in South Lanarkshire for 2026-27.