No fines for fly-tippers were issued in pandemic
NO actions were taken to punish flytipping offenders in Bridgend county during the pandemic.
Bridgend council received more than 1,700 reports of fly-tipping in 2020/21 but no fixed penalty notices were issued during this time.
According to a council spokesperson, no notices were issued because the authority “had to urgently reprioritise staff and resources as a result of the global pandemic”.
“While this ensured that fly-tipping could be cleared as normal,” they added, “we also had to take into account staff well-being and the need to avoid exposing people to materials that could be potentially contaminated with Covid-19. This was a temporary measure which reflected the operational requirements of the pandemic, and normal procedures are being introduced again as the situation continues to improve.”
A Freedom of Information request found Llangewydd Road, Bryntirion gave rise to the most reports of flytipping with 30 incidents in 2020/21 when compared with other streets/ roads.
In May, a pony was trapped in a field near Bridgend Paper Mills after more than 50 tyres were dumped outside the entrance gate.
Data also shows 1,788 incidents were reported to Bridgend council between April 1 2019 and March 31 2020, which resulted in 15 fixed penalty notices being issued. During the same period in 2020/21, the authority received 1,744 reports of fly-tipping.
Fly-tipping reports in Neath Port Talbot increased by almost a third in the pandemic, while Newport Council saw a 600% rise in the number of fines issued for fly-tipping in 2020, compared with the previous year.