Caerphilly Council with fewer instances of fly-tipping

Fly-tipping, or the disposing of rubbish illegally, is a regular source of debate as people are slapped with fly-tipping fines or get enraged about bin collection days.

Neil Harrison, team leader for Fly-tipping Action Wales, said: “Councils across Wales are working tirelessly to crack down on fly-tipping and to deter the criminals who are spoiling our landscape. It is really positive to see their ongoing efforts reflected in the overall decrease in fly-tipping across Wales in this year’s figures.”

In November 2023 Stats Wales released figures which showed three councils (Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Newport) recording higher numbers of fly-tipping cases in 2022/23 compared to 2006/07, while two other local councils reported lower figures in 2022/23 than they did 16 years ago (Caerphilly and Monmouthshire).

Changes in recorded fly-tipping incidents could be for a number of reasons, for example there may be more rubbish thrown away illegally in recent years compared to the early 2000s or a local authority might do more to clean up reported cases.

Newport City Council, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly reported fewer instances of fly-tipping in 2022/23 than they did the year before (2021/22).

All five Gwent councils said they hold a “zero-tolerance policy” towards fly-tipping.

Below we show figures for the number of fly-tipping cases per council and the steps each council took to fight the crime.

Caerphilly County Borough Council

Caerphilly council's cases of fly-tipping dropped again in 2022/23, with over one thousand enforcement actions taken. (Image: Newsquest)

A Caerphilly council spokesperson said: “As an authority we are constantly looking into new ways to detect and deter people from disposing of their waste illegally."

Caerphilly council mentioned their aim is to encourage residents to dispose rubbish in the proper way using social media, post details of all successful prosecutions, work with local communities to raise awareness, invest in CCTV and work with agencies such as the Police and Fly Tipping Action Wales. 

“Nobody should hand over their waste to an unlicenced waste disposal contractor. If an unlicenced waste disposal contractor illegally disposes of the waste via fly-tipping; the producer of the waste (domestic householder or commercial company) may be held liable for the fly-tipping and potentially face legal proceedings."

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council

Blaenau Gwent figures reported to Stats Wales as well as the actions taken e.g. fixed penalty notices. (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesperson for Blaenau Gwent said they have "a network of covert and overt CCTV cameras deployed" to record fly-tipping offences.

Councillor Helen Cunningham, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s cabinet member for Place and Environment & Deputy Leader, said: “Working closely with Street Cleansing colleagues and pro-actively deploying CCTV has resulted in the positive figures we see today.

“Fly tippers should be under no illusion that if they fly tip within Blaenau Gwent, we will take the necessary enforcement action against them.”

Newport City Council

Newport City Council's figures on fly-tipping and change between 2021/22 to 2022/23. (Image: Newsquest)A spokesperson for Newport City Council said: “Our enforcement actions led to Newport having the second highest number of successful fly-tipping prosecutions in 2022/23 in Wales, and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure those who break the law are penalised for it.

“Our Pride in Newport teams investigate any instance of fly-tipping which is reported to us, taking enforcement actions against those responsible where they can be identified.

“If residents spot fly-tipped waste anywhere in the city, they can report this to us through our website. Residents can use our reporting service to accurately log locations of fly-tipped waste, which helps us to remove it faster.”

Torfaen County Borough Council

Torfaen County Borough Council cases of fly-tipping and the actions that the council took. (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesperson for Torfaen County Borough Council confirmed there were three successful cases of legal action in 2022/23 for fly-tipping offences and a total amount of £3,608 was collected after prosecution (which includes the fine, victim surcharge and costs).

The spokesperson for Torfaen Council said: “Our officers regularly attend meetings hosted by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and benefit from the sharing of advice and support between partners on measures to tackle fly-tipping.

“We employ a litter and fly-tipping prevention officer to work with community groups, businesses, and partners to tackle littering and fly-tipping in their local areas. The officer is working with Keep Wales Tidy to increase the number of Litter Picking Hubs and Litter Free Zones in the borough. They also run our annual spring clean, and support volunteers and groups who litter pick in Torfaen.”

Monmouthshire County Council

Monmouthshire cases of fly-tipping and how many actions were taken as a result. (Image: Newsquest)A Monmouthshire County Council Spokesperson said:

“Reports of fly-tipping are submitted to the Council via the MyMonmouthshire Portal. The fly-tipping crew will then attend the site and check the waste for any evidence before removing and disposing of the waste as appropriate. Any evidence found is passed to Environmental Health for further investigation. In addition to waste reported to MCC, crews will collect and dispose of fly-tipped waste where they find it during their day-to-day activities. The teams collaborate closely with key stakeholders, including Natural Resource Wales, Keep Wales Tidy, Fly Tipping Action Wales and neighbouring local authorities."

Residents are urged not to touch fly-tipped waste themselves as this could lead to them being held responsible for the disposal of it.

Each council has a different system on how to report fly-tipping incidences.