The Welsh Government has announced annual fly-tipping statistics, revealing that Rhondda Cynon Taf is amongst the top performing local authorities for fly-tipping enforcement – with 42 successful fly-tipping prosecutions within the last year.
Newport (29 prosecutions) and Caerphilly (9 prosecutions) were just behind Rhondda Cynon Taf in reporting successful fly-tipping prosecutions – making these south-Wales Councils the top performing local authorities for fly-tipping enforcement in Wales, each cracking down on this crime in their areas.
The 2021-22 stats release, which analyses incidents recorded by local authorities between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022, also revealed that, a total of 966 waste enforcement actions (including prosecutions and fixed penalty notices) were recorded in Wales.
To try and tackle fly-tipping across the nation and decrease incidents in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Fly-tipping Action Wales is calling on Rhondda Cynon Taf residents to ensure that they are disposing of their excess household rubbish and garden waste responsibly, by following their Waste Duty of Care – reinforcing the continuous efforts that are being made in the long-term fight against fly-tipping.
Neil Harrison, Team Leader for Fly-tipping Action Wales, said: “It’s reassuring to see that Rhondda Cynon Taf has successfully achieved the highest number of prosecutions to tackle the problem of fly-tipping within Wales, demonstrating the council’s commitment to combatting this crime and change behaviour long-term.
“In Wales, it remains the case that around two thirds of all fly-tipping incidents contain waste from households, which is why we are urging residents to protect themselves from unregistered waste carriers and asking them to always check with Natural Resources Wales that the person they use to remove any excess rubbish from their home is a registered waste carrier.
Tim Jones Environmental Enforcement & Awareness Manager said: “The Rhondda Cynon Taf Enforcement Team are committed to investigating every incident of fly tipping and prosecuting all offences where enough evidence is present.
“Fly tipping is a blight on our countryside and communities, and with the Council offering a wide range of kerbside collections services including co-mingled dry recycling, waste collections, green / garden waste, nappy recycling, food recycling and bulky item collections, plus residents having free access to six Household Waste Recycling Centres throughout the Borough, there is no excuse for this behaviour.”
Fly-tipping is a serious crime. It causes considerable damage to the environment, the economy and local communities — with the consequences being up to a £50,000 fine or imprisonment for the offender.
When arranging the removal of household waste, people in Wales are required to check with Natural Resources Wales that the person or company they are using are a registered waste carrier by visiting naturalresources.wales/checkwaste or calling 03000 653000. Failure to make these appropriate checks could result in a £300 fixed penalty notice if the waste is fly-tipped.
For more information on ways to manage and dispose of your waste safely, legally and responsibly, please visit DutyofCare.wales, follow @FtAW on Twitter or search @FtAWales Facebook.
