COUNCIL COMES UNDER FIRE FOR RUBBISH STUNT
CARDIFF council has come under fire after a pile of rubbish was dumped outside City Hall as part of a publicity stunt to highlight the problem of flytipping.
Four tonnes of assorted rubbish appeared outside the iconic city centre building yesterday morning At first it was thought that fly-tippers had been in overnight and left the rubbish in the gardens in front of the iconic building.
But later it was revealed that it was all part of publicity for a clampdown by the council on fly-tippers.
But it hasn’t gone down well with everyone, and the council has been on Twitter defending its actions.
Simon Parton said: “I have known some councils do some stupid things before, but this just tops the lot.
“Highlighting mess by causing more mess? Yep, brilliant idea I don’t think! How much did this stupid nonsense cost the taxpayer?”
Baz Truemen said: “So basically time and wages of council staff was wasted on this stunt and I assume fuel costs. Disgusting use of taxpayers’ money.”
Another said: “Poor decision, poor marketing strategy and costly when we can see the evidence ! Would have done better to clean up what’s already scattered! People also need to stop doing it but this is just stupid!”
Trefor Jones said: “Logically they should prosecute themselves, who advises councils these days?”
Cardiff council replied on Twitter to some of the comments saying: “The publicity exercise was designed to get people talking about the issue and the fact that everyone needs to take responsibility for their waste.”
Another said: “Thanks for your post. The communications department organised the PR stunt.”
Addressing complaints about how much it cost, a tweet said: “The cost of the publicity stunt was purely the cost of staff time to dump the waste and the cost to collect it later this morning.”
Speaking after it was revealed the council was behind the stunt, Councillor Michael Michael, who is in charge of recycling and the environment for the council, said: “We are currently collecting 20 tonnes of fly-tipped material across the city per week – that’s the size of three tyrannosaurus rex – and it is costing the taxpayer £150,000 a year in clean up services.
“In all honesty there is no excuse for fly-tipping. Cardiff council offers a wide range of services to help residents and businesses to dispose of their waste correctly.”
He added residents have a duty of care of ensure their waste is disposed of correctly: “If we find any evidence among fly-tipped material which leads back to a resident then unfortunately they face being fined £400 for it. If we locate the trader that dumped it then they could be fined £400.”
Since November, the council has handed out 171 fixed penalty notices and has promised to crackdown on those responsible. But local people feel that there is not enough help with getting rid of waste. One said: “The councils have shut the local community recycling depot and charge too much to have rubbish taken away.”
The communications department has been approached for comment.