NEWPORT City Council has defended its continued use of the appointment system for its household waste and recycling centre (HWRC).

The local authority also dismissed the idea the booking-only approach could be linked to an increase in fly-tipping in the city.

As the Argus reported last month, Newport recorded more reports of illegal waste-dumping last year than any other council in Wales.

The city also recorded the highest rise in fly-tipping compared with the previous year.

One councillor asked what the local authority was doing to reduce these levels, including whether a review of the booking system was being considered at Newport household recycling centre.

Councillor Yvonne Forsey, the cabinet member for climate change and biodiversity, said there was "no evidence to link the booking system at Newport household recycling centre to an increase in fly-tipping".

She said the booking system had brought "many benefits in a number of areas that traditionally posed a problem on-site".

Bookings had "also resulted in improved recycling performance and the council being awarded HWRC site of the year last year".

"A similar system is now used in most councils in Wales," she added.

Cllr Forsey instead attributed the rise in fly-tipping reports to better recording of the problem.

"The increase in cases reported is just a consequence of the increased activity carried out by the council teams to tackle fly-tipping," she said, echoing what Newport City Council told the Argus when the figures were published in September.

"The cabinet invested in a second dedicated fly tipping response team, and there have been increased action and enforcement against fly-tipping - which has led to a higher frequency of incidents being proactively detected and reported," she added.

"We have also encouraged residents to report fly-tipping to us through our website and My Newport app which helps us to remove it faster.

"As a result, the council has recorded the second highest number of successful prosecutions against fly-tippers in Wales during this period, whilst providing an average response time of under 1.5 days."

Cllr Forsey said the local authority would "continue to take action against anyone caught fly-tipping in our city and work proactively with our partners to discourage this type of behaviour".