Staff at a popular Highland resort are appealing to campers to be mindful of others as they pitch up on the grounds.
Glencoe Mountain Resort has recorded around 100 campervans using their car park in recent weeks, utilising their onsite facilities.
Staff endorsed a “light touch” approach by not chasing campers away but instead urging them to register their visit on their contact tracing app while seeking a £5 donation towards the use of amenities.
Now staff have revealed that they have received just £15 in donations – and have been left picking up waste on behalf of campers.
Andy Meldrum, managing director, said it was disappointing that there is a minority “using and abusing” the system.
He said: “For the first couple of weeks our official take on it was that we were asking only vans who were booked into our official spots to stay, but unfortunately reasonably quickly we discovered that even if we chased people as soon as our staff left at night they were arriving.
“For a week or two we weren’t bothered but our big issue is that for the last we while our staff have been clearing and emptying all the bins before leaving and then when we come back in the morning, we find everything is stacked up with bin bags everywhere and just a sheer amount of rubbish.
“I am guessing it’s because campervans are struggling to find other places and other bins are full.
“It seems to just be a minority who seem to be using and abusing and don’t think they have to contribute in anyway despite the fact that for us waste refuge is an expensive business when you live as isolated as we are.”
The revelation comes as councillors demand immediate action to protect the Highlands against wild campers as UK residents continue to venture north for the holidays.
Concerns have been raised over the health implications due to the lack of facilities such as toilets, bins and adequate parking areas, leading to a motion for additional funding to employ countryside wardens.
Mr Meldrum is urging those travelling to the west coast to respect the procedures in place.
He added: “We don’t mind our customers leaving their waste with us if they are paying to stay but the people who are not paying to stay and think its fine to dump three bags of litter at our bins is a bit off.
“We can’t prevent people coming and if people don’t want to pay then just don’t use our facilities and don’t leave rubbish and litter that’s absolutely fine but if people are going to choose to use our facilities we need them to register their stay on our contact tracing app and all we ask is for a £5 donation,
“A lot of campervans come and stay with us and are brilliant. They spent money at the centre, go mountain biking and up the chair lift and we do very well but there just seems to be a minority at the moment that think it’s a right to abuse.”
A Highland Council spokesman said: “While we welcome visitors to the Highlands we urge everyone to ‘leave no trace’. People can report litter using the report form on the Council’s website at www.highland.gov.uk/report.
“We can issue a £80 fine for dropping litter. Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste. We can issue fines from £200 to £20,000 or the offender can receive 6 months in prison (up to 5 years if hazardous waste is dumped).”