‘Horrifying level of fly-tipping’ at valley riverbank
A “HORRIFYING” amount of fly-tipped rubbish has been found hanging off trees and strewn on the banks of a river in the Swansea Valley.
The discovery was made by 54-year-old Howard Evans as he walked the footpath along Nant Llwydyn near Craigcefnparc on Saturday, April 10.
The footage recorded by Mr Evans as he progressed along the riverbank shows the scale of the dumped rubbish strewn along a substantial stretch of the river amongst trees and undergrowth.
He said: “Fly-tipping was present for half a kilometre or so down the steep slopes. I was disgusted and dismayed by the sight I saw. I haven’t walked along that stretch of road recently but when walking or driving in Mawr generally I am horrified by the amount of flytipping that takes place. Items dumped included paint tins, mattresses, carpets, doors, beds, rubbish bags full of who knows what, a bath, tyres, plastics, and evidence of asbestos roof sheets.
“The penalties for flytipping should be reviewed or strengthened and sites where it is common monitored carefully. The fly-tipping I came across on Saturday was not from just one incident,” he added.
The area is close to the RSPB Cwm Clydach nature reserve which boasts miles of what should be unspoilt trail running along the Lower Clydach River.
Other beauty spots in and around Swansea Bay have also been hit by problems with litter and fly-tipping in recent weeks. Volunteers spent their mornings clearing up hundreds of bottles and burned furniture left behind by the crowds drawn to Swansea Beach by the good weather recently, and a pile of mess was found dumped in dunes at Aberavon beach.
‘‘ Fly-tipping was present for half a kilometre or so down the steep slopes. I was disgusted and dismayed by the sight I saw - Howard Evans
“To the people who dump the rubbish, in one word, ‘stop.’
“The impact of fly-tipping on a locality, its people, the environment, agriculture and tourism should not be underestimated and neither should the cost to the taxpayer of the ‘clean up,’” Mr Evans added.
A spokesman for Swansea Council said: “No reports have been received in relation to the fly-tipping highlighted.
“If the waste is found to be on public land we will look at methods to retrieve the waste and investigate further to identify who has dumped it illegally”.