SUMMER has well and truly arrived, bringing weeks of hot weather and sending people streaming to our amazing parks, beauty spots and tourist attractions.

The old county of Gwent, including Newport, Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Caerphilly county Borough, has some of the best summer spots around.

But alongside the lush green mountains, serene reservoirs and meandering coastal stretches lurks a creeping tide of rubbish.

Pedestrian litter is on a shocking 88 percent of all streets in Wales, making it hard to enjoy the summer through a smudged lens of dumped rubbish, plastic bags, cigarette buts and dog waste.

 

Since 2006 the Welsh Government has provided funding to national charity Keep Wales Tidy to carry out surveys across Wales to find out how clean our streets are.

While the latest report shows 95.8 percent of streets were “acceptable”, levels of litter have remained “largely unchanged” since last year. A startling 88.2 per cent of Welsh streets are plagued by pedestrian litter. Litter is becoming normalised.

 

Drill down into the report and you will find smoking litter on 80.3 percent of streets, domestic litter on 69.7 percent, confectionary litter on 54.1 percent, drink litter on 43.3 percent of streets, and fast food litter on 18 percent.

The startling thing about the numbers isn’t the high numbers, it’s that the stats have stabilised. Litter is in danger of becoming normalised, and once it becomes normal, it will be ignored.

Who is responsible for clearing litter and flytipping?

Local authorities use Welsh Government revenue grant funding to deliver against “key priorities” including issues like as littering. The budget for the 22 Welsh authorities is set at £2.548m for 2018-19.

Through this funding, they encourage local authorities to adopt a long term approach to the problem and try to help local communities take greater ownership of their surrounding environment.

 

But, explained a spokesman, as local authorities are responsible for keeping their land and highways clear of litter, it’s up to them to work out the best approach to tackling the issue.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, all local authorities have a duty to keep all their public, open air land as free of litter “as far as is reasonably practicable.”

READ MORE: 'Careful' littering is just as bad as throwing

But it is also the responsibility of homeowners to ensure their litter is properly disposed of.

Every household has a legal responsibility to make sure their rubbish is disposed of correctly. If you have your rubbish removed and it ends up being fly-tipped, you could be held responsible and fined.

Enforcement

Each separate authority has a seperate process for reporting litter and dealing with offenders, usually in the form of on the spot fines.

Litter is even on the police’s radar. Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator for Gwent Police, Chief Inspector Richard Blakemore called litter a “blight on our communities’ landscapes”.

“Dropping litter or fly-tipping is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Gwent,” said Ch Insp Blakemore.

 

“It is an offence to drop litter, spray graffiti, fly-tip and allow dogs to foul. These actions can seriously impact on the quality of life for people living nearby.

“It can also threaten people’s health, cause damage to the environment and can be costly to clear.

“We work each of the five local authorities in Gwent including their Environmental Protection Departments alongside partner agencies and communities groups, to ensure those committing such acts are dealt with appropriately and our communities are kept safe and clean.”

Volunteers

Despite the best efforts of local authorities and law enforcement, tightening budgets, overstretched resources and an increase in the amount of disposable, one-use packaging means volunteers often step up to help hold back the tide.

“Litter attracts litter,” explained Usk in Bloom chairman Tony Keir.

Four years ago, Tony set up a litter picking group to rid his home town of litter ahead of the In Bloom competition.

READ MORE: Committed volunteers crack down on litter in Pill

Since then, the group has attracted so many volunteers that the town council has taken over, driving them to new heights.

But Mr Keir explained that he is still driven to pick litter wherever he sees it, often going out alone or with one or two friends to clear laybys along the A-roads near Usk.

“What drives me is that I absolutely hate seeing litter dropped. It’s just pure laziness,” he said.

“It’s just so awful, and it’s not just the town – it’s also about the commute into Usk.

“We’ve found mounds of rubbish in the laybys at the side of the road. A few months ago we found 39 bags of rubbish. We also found over 100 bottles of urine, presumably thrown away by truck drivers.

 

“Ultimately it’s about pride in where you live. Some of the litter you see is an embarrassment to communities.

“The initial clean-up is hard, but when you’ve done it we have shown it only takes 10 minutes to follow it up with a quick sweep.

“Litter will attract more litter. If someone picks it up, then the next person won’t want to drop litter there.”

READ MORE: More than 100 bottles of urine found in lay-by

Mr Keir, and the rest of the Usk in Bloom litter heroes, are far from alone. This summer we are highlighting your stories, and exploring the innovative ways our local authorities are holding back the tide. Tomorrow we’re turning our attention to Torfaen, where one local legend has teamed up with the council to wage his own war on litter.

If you have your our community champion to shout about, get in touch.

What can YOU do to help?

Small actions can make a big difference. So, when you’re out and about, remember to dispose of your litter responsibly – either put it in the bins provided or take it home with you.

A growing number of people go one step further and carry out a #2minutestreetclean, #2minutebeachclean or just make a point of picking up five items of litter like crisp packets, plastic drinks bottles or cans.

Anyone looking to dedicate more time to caring for their neighbourhood can sign up to become a Litter Champion. Keep Wales Tidy will provide all the equipment needed to safely carry out more thorough clean-ups.

 

Keep Wales Tidy has project officers in every local authority who support community groups to tackle all kinds of environmental improvement projects. They can help with one-off events or support new groups to get going.

The charity also runs national clean-up campaigns two or three times a year. The next one to take place is the All Wales Beach Clean (14-30 September). As well as cleaning up every public beach, Keep Wales Tidy will be targeting rivers and other watercourses across the country.

All the details can be found on the Keep Wales Tidy website (www.keepwalestidy.cymru)

Get in Touch

Throughout our War on Litter campaign, we want to feature every litter picking hero and volunteer group that we can. As well as your stories, we want your pictures and videos too. If you would like to be featured, or if you want to send us some pictures of problem areas that deserve attention, get in touch by emailing sam.ferguson@gwent-wales.co.uk