REVEALED: THE WORST PLACES IN WALES FOR FLY-TIPPING
WALES is known for its beautiful countryside and unique charm, but fly-tipping is blighting streets, alleys and open spaces. Some parts of Wales have become regular targets for fly-tippers, who dump everything from filthy black bags to children’s toys and household furniture.
One site in Merthyr has become notorious for fly-tipping and what was once one of Wales’ most picturesque roads has become a dumping ground.
The Welsh Government says it has A Fly-tipping Free Wales strategy – but last year there were 35,434 instances reported to local councils.
While this is lower than in previous years, just 72 people were prosecuted and four people were sent to jail.
Out of the 35,434 instances reported to local authorities, 25,426 were investigated; 2,577 warning letters were sent out and 1,622 fines were issued.
It cost the Welsh Government more than £1.8m to clear rubbish that was fly-tipped.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “In line with our A Fly-tipping Free Wales strategy, we support councils and other partners through Fly-tipping Action Wales, a unique partnership approach which enables us to tackle flytipping through education, enforcement and community engagement initiatives.
“We have also introduced new powers which will allow local authorities to issue fixed penalty notices to those caught fly-tipping.
“These new fines have provided local authorities with more efficient and proportionate enforcement tools.” So, which area was the worst? Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cardiff had the highest number of reported cases of fly-tipping last year, with 5,928.
The second highest was Newport, with 3,588, followed by Rhondda Cynon Taf, with 3,349.
The area with the fewest instances of fly-tipping was Wrexham, where just 215 cases were reported to the authorities.
According to the Welsh Government, two areas that saw the biggest increase in fly-tipping reports last year were Carmarthenshire – with Llanelli seeing the most fly-tipping – and Powys. However, the government says this is due to improved recording of fly-tipping and not necessarily because more rubbish was being dumped.
CARDIFF
The Welsh capital saw 5,928 instances of fly-tipping reported last year, the lowest number since 2015/15.
It investigated 7154 cases; handed out 1,241 fines; sent 39 warning letters and 11 statutory notices.
However, nobody was prosecuted for the crime.
In total, fly-tipping cost Cardiff Council £379,826. The highest cost for the local authority was clearing large “transit van load” piles of rubbish, but it was also forced to fork out £26,564 to clear single items.
A spokesman for Cardiff Council said: “Fly-tipping is completely unnecessary. It damages the environment and costs the taxpayer a significant amount of money each year.
“The message to those who continue to ruin the environment that we all live in is, stop, if you get caught you will either receive a fixed penalty notice or face court action with a possible fine of up to £50,000 or six months imprisonment depending on the severity of the case.”
A number of infrared cameras have also been installed in fly-tipping hotspots across the capital to catch offenders.
Last year, the local authority handed out 74 fines. At the time the data was published, only 10 had been paid.
The local authority doesn’t record specific locations for fly-tipping, so it’s difficult to determine which areas are frequently targeted.
But Cardiff residents contacted WalesOnline to share their experiences of fly-tipping. The ‘hotspots’ given by residents are Kenwood Road in Ely, Well Street Lane in Riverside and Moorland Road in Splott.
NEWPORT
Newport City Council received 3,588 reports of fly-tipping last year and out of those 2,800 were investigated.
215 warning letters were sent; 56 statutory notices were issued; nine fines were handed out; one stop and search was carried out; one formal caution took place and two people were prosecuted.
A spokesperson for the council said: “Newport City Council deplores and condemns irresponsible fly-tippers who have little or no regard for other people living and working in the city. There is absolutely no excuse for such behaviour.”
The wards which saw the most fly-tipping were Victoria with 1,224; Pill with 1,000 and Liswerry with 744 reports.
Liswerry resident Andrew Sterry said he often finds furniture, including three-piece suites, beds and mattresses and filthy black bags of rubbish in the streets.
Mr Sterry, who is part of Lliswerry Community Clean Up, said: “I would say the worst part of Lliswerry is Broadmead Park. The banks are usually filled with rubbish in black bags that have been dumped by residents. There’s constantly rubbish there, no matter how many times the area is cleared, it just fills up again.”
RHONDDA CYNON TAFF
In Rhondda Cynon Taff there were 3,349 reported instances of fly-tipping in 2017/18, of which around 2,000 were single or small items.
The council said all instances are investigated if there is evidence – but for the vast majority of cases, this wasn’t available. Out of the thousands of instances of fly-tipping last year, just 17 cases were prosecuted in court.
But while the local authority collected £10,400 in fines, fly-tipping cost the council £165,021 clearing away rubbish.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The council takes fly-tipping extremely serious and anyone found blighting the county borough will be held accountable.
“To clamp down on fly-tipping in RCT, a full-time officer has now been employed and all cases are investigated for evidence where possible. The council has a number of covert CCTV cameras in key ‘hotspot’ locations to catch offenders red-handed.”
CARMARTHENSHIRE
In Carmarthenshire, there were 2,939 cases of fly-tipping reported to the authorities. Of those, there were 14 prosecutions and three fines handed out.
Llanelli was the worst area affected.
That means 2,937 cases went without those responsible facing action for the crime, despite fly-tipping costing Carmarthenshire council £124,162. This included the £1,869 it paid to remove single black bags.
Last year, a pile of abandoned tyres and bags of household waste were found in a field in Kidwelly Quay.
And in 2017, one man was forced to pay £1,000 after being caught dumping 15 black refuse bags on a grass verge in Llethri Road, Llanelli, having driven 35 miles late at night.
MERTHYR TYDFIL
Over in Merthyr there were 2,273 fly-tipping incidents reported. Of those, the council only investigated 237 cases, sent out 106 warning letters and issued 31 fines.
Councillor Howard Barrett, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, planning and countryside said it is doing all it can to stop peo- ple fly-tipping in the area and as of March 7 last year, the local authority can hand out £400 on-the-spot-fines.
But last year nobody was prosecuted in court for their crimes, despite fly-tipping costing the council £86,647.
In Merthyr itself, Bogey Road has become notorious for fly-tipping, which has been described as being on an “industrial scale”.
Sofas, fridge freezers and bin bags have been repeatedly left on the mountainside road – some of which had been set alight.
CAERPHILLY
Caerphilly Council recorded 1,773 incidents of fly-tipping, which resulted in action being taken in 1,382 cases.
A spokesperson for the council said its enforcement team “always takes a proactive stance against flytippers” and “prosecutions are always sought if the offender can be identified”.
But while the local authority investigated 1,186 cases, it only issued 174 fixed penalty notices and 17 warning letters. Nobody was prosecuted. Fly-tipping cost Caerphilly Council £128,878 last year.
According to the council, the flytipping hotspots last year were Machen/Wyllie Common, Bargoed/Gellier Mountain, Nelson Common, Rudry Common, Markham Common, Twmbarlwm Common and Llanfach.
SWANSEA
There were 1,766 cases reported to the authorities last year. Swansea council carried out 2,213 investigations and five people were prosecuted.
It also handed out 1,346 statutory notices, 369 warning letters and two cases resulted in people being given formal cautions.
The ward with the highest number of incidents last year was Castle, with 208. This is followed by Morriston with 161; Uplands with 145; and Mynyddback with 109.
Swansea resident Pipa Richard-
son lives in the Blaenymaes area of the city said she is constantly cleaning rubbish away from outside her home and added she has seen people fly-tipping rubbish in a river close to her house.
She said: “I’ve lived in Blaenymaes for four years. There’s two massive fields that are covered in unwanted items or household waste and nappies dumped on the side of the road. Almost every piece of grass or bush will have a piece of rubbish chucked in it. Honestly, it’s disgusting. “
BRIDGEND
Some 1,604 cases of fly-tipping were reported to the Bridgend County Borough Council, costing the local authority £73,053.
One area of Bridgend that’s been blighted by fly-tipping is Wildmill. Last month, residents of the housing estate said the area had become a “dumping ground” with piles of rubbish strewn in the streets.
One resident who lives on Maesy-Felin said she felt like she was “living on a landfill site” because so much waste has been dumped outside her home.
The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “I keep my curtains closed because it’s all I see. It’s like we’re living on a landfill site.”
A spokesman for the council said: “Clearing fly-tipping comes at a cost to the public purse. We are determined to reduce it and encourage everyone to be more responsible with their waste.”
ANGLESEY
There were 1,567 cases reported to the local authority last year and all were investigated. The council spent the smallest amount – £22,730 – on clearing fly-tipped waste.
But despite this, the council only handed out 51 warning letters and 19 fines. Nobody was prosecuted.
The areas with the highest number of fly-tipping incidents were Holyhead/Rhosneigr, Aberffaw/ Llangaffo and Newborough.
CONWY
In Conwy, 1,540 instances of flytipping were reported to the authorities last year. Conwy Council carried out 341 investigations, sent 41 warning letters and issued three formal cautions.
The council spent nearly £81,500 removing waste that had been dumped.
The council said it offers fortnightly kerb-collections for textiles and electrical items to discourage people from fly-tipping and opens its two recycling centres seven days a week. It also offers a mobile recycling centre which visits rural locations every month.
POWYS
Powys County Council received 1,436 reports of fly-tipping last year and 1,579 investigations were carried out.
Following this, 70 cases resulted in fixed penalty notices being handed out and 499 warning letters being sent to offenders. Nobody was prosecuted. Clearing rubbish that had been fly-tipped cost the council £97,714.
A spokesperson for Powys council said: “The council has an education awareness campaign to educate households and businesses in how to dispose of their waste correctly and people can report fly-tipping online.
“There are no particular hotspots in the county. Powys is a low population density county and littering is a proportionally smaller problem than in other areas.”
PEMBROKESHIRE
Pembrokeshire County Council recorded 1,323 incidents of fly-tipping, which cost £95,158 to clear.
But despite more than 1,000 cases being reported, just three were investigated, with one case resulting in a formal caution.
No fines were handed out, no warning letters were sent and nobody was prosecuted.
A spokesperson for the council said: “We have since been working with Fly Tipping Action Wales, along with other local authorities, to plot fly tipping hotspots across the whole of Wales.”
DENBIGHSHIRE
In Denbighshire, 1,207 reports of fly-tipping were recorded by the council, which said mostly were small amounts of rubbish.
Out of these, 642 were investigated and 26 resulted in warning letters being sent.
The council also said three large fly-tipping offences went before the courts, with all resulting in fines.
The total cost of removing fly-tipping in Denbighshire was £81,464 and the area with the highest recorded number of incidents was Rhyl.
NEATH PORT TALBOT
1,056 incidents were reported to authorities in Neath Port Talbot, leading to 710 investigations; 206 warning letters; 37 prosecutions; 27 fixed penalty notices and four stop and searches.
In total, fly-tipping cost Neath Port Talbot Council £92,728.
BLAENAU GWENT
In Blaenau Gwent, fewer than 1,000 incidents were reported to authorities last year. 995 reports were made, which led to 340 investigations, four warning letters and four prosecutions.
A council spokesperson said: “Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council will always pursue formal action against perpetrators of flytipping offences where evidence exists to identify offenders and each incident is investigated by a trained, experienced enforcement officer.”
The local authority said the areas which saw a higher level of fly-tipping tended to be large, open areas such as Mammoel Common.
FLINTSHIRE
Flintshire County Council received 774 reports of fly-tipping last year, but it didn’t carry out any enforcement action.
This means no offenders were fined, given warnings or prosecuted – despite the council spending £35,487 clearing away fly-tipped rubbish.
The council said it investigates all cases of fly-tipping and clears it away within 24 hours of it being reported. But at the moment, it’s not able to issue fixed penalty notices to offenders – although it will be introducing this system soon.
TORFEAN
In Torfean, the local authority received 696 reports of flytipping. Out of these, 132 were investigated and 66 cases resulted in warning letters being sent to offenders.
According to the council, there were also six prosecutions.
Councillor Fiona Cross, executive member for the environment, said: “We will do all we can to prevent and prosecute fly-tippers, but can only do this together with the Torfaen community, who have a key role to play in helping us identify those responsible.”
GWYNEDD
Gwynedd Council recorded 461 instances of fly-tipping last year, which cost a total of £22,730 to remove.
The local authority carried out 324 investigations, sent out 47 warning letters and issued 49 fixed penalty notice.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The planning service has an enforcement policy that deals with untidy land (which could potentially include fly-tipping) and will request appropriate steps are taken to improve the visual appearance of land.”
It added that there were no known fly-tipping hotspots in Gwynedd.
MONMOUTHSHIRE
In Monmouthshire, 420 cases of flytipping were recorded and two of those resulted in prosecutions.
A total of £3,230 was awarded to Monmouthshire County Council through the two prosecutions, but the cost of clearing fly-tipping came to £25,062.
VALE OF GLAMORGAN
The Vale of Glamorgan Council received 324 reports of fly-tipping last year and carried out 386 investigations. The only action taken was warning letters being sent to offenders, which happened in 14 cases.
Colin Smith, Vale of Glamorgan Council operational manager for neighbourhood services and transport, said: “When a report is received, a member of our environmental enforcement team will visit the area, remove the waste and attempt to find evidence of who might have left it.”
The authority is also in the process of creating a new centralised enforcement team that will specifically target fly-tipping.
In total, the council spent £22,278 clearing fly-tipping last year.
CEREDIGION
Ceredigion County Council was the only local authority in Wales to investigate no cases in 2017/18 – meaning no action was taken against offenders.
This is despite the council saying there are areas which have “historically been prone to fly-tipping” and 240 reports being made. Over the 12 months, Ceredigion council spent £9,599 clearing the waste.
A spokesperson said: “Ceredigion is fortunate in that the vast majority of visitors and residents respect and value the local built and natural environment by dealing with their waste in legal and responsible ways. We do however have a small number of cases that have resulted in investigation and appropriate penalties being issued where evidence has been available.”
WREXHAM
Wrexham County Borough Council received 215 reports of fly-tipping – the lowest figure for Wales.
Out of the 215, it investigated 34, but no action was taken.
Do you know of any areas in Wales that are particularly bad for fly-tipping? Email bronte. howard@walesonline.co.uk