Over the past few weeks, I’ve been made aware of several incidents of flytipping in Central Fife and other nearby areas.

Sadly, these incidents have ranged from cans, plastic bottles and fast-food boxes being chucked out of cars to a dumper truck tipping mounds of waste onto a farm in Cowdenbeath.

It’s frustrating to see a small minority of people acting so selfishly, showing such disregard for our constituency – and leaving it to either the council or community volunteers to clean up after them.

It surely can’t be too much to ask that people take responsibility for their own mess, rather than dumping it at the roadside and expecting someone else to deal with it.

Unfortunately, these recent flytipping incidents make it clear there will always be a tiny minority of people who simply don’t care.

However, I was glad to learn that work is ongoing to crack down on the scourge of flytipping in our community.

For example, Councillor Ross Vettraino has been pushing for a tougher approach in recent months.

I understand his proposals include far harsher fines for those caught dumping rubbish illegally, and seeing if the fines of those being found guilty can be given back to the community rather than disappearing into HM Treasury in London.

What’s more, Fife Council has allocated millions of pounds towards community improvement measures – including addressing flytipping.

These are all positive steps which should go some way towards dealing with the ongoing flytipping problem in our community.

I’m fully supportive of all ongoing work to crack down on the issue, and I’m looking forward to seeing it make a difference in the months ahead…but we all need to play our part and recycle at home rather than just throwing away our waste at the roadside.

Charity appeal shows the best of Fife

On a separate note, I was extremely heartened to read about the response to a recent appeal for donations from a charity in Crossgates.

As the Central Fife Times reported, Acorn Aid (Scotland) asked for contributions to its collection for Afghan refugees coming to Scotland.

And the community did not disappoint, with donations of essential items flooding in within days.

In total, more than 35 tonnes of items were donated to the charity after its appeal – a truly incredible response.

Those donations will make a real difference to the lives of those relocating to Fife, and show just how welcoming and kind our community can be.

There’s still time to get vaccinated

One thing we can all do to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and the wider community safe is to get both shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Helpfully, it’s never been easier to get a jag, with NHS Fife now running drop-in clinics throughout the Kingdom.

I’d urge anyone who’s still not fully vaccinated to stop by their nearest clinic to get protected and lighten the workload on our already over-stretched NHS.

Details on how to find the nearest drop-in clinic can be found by visiting @NHSFife sites on social media or their website www.nhsfife.org