Carms in top five for fly-tipping enforcement

Figures show that Carmarthenshire is in the top five performing local authorities in Wales for fly-tipping enforcement. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The number of recorded fly-tipping incidents in the county fell from 1,438 in 2013/14 to 1,306 in 2014/15*. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Environmental enforcement officers carried out a total of 1208 investigations last year as well as 101 ‘duty of care’ related inspections. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Some 245 warning letters were sent out and the authority prosecuted six individuals for fly-tipping offences resulting in fines. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones, said: “Carmarthenshire operates a proactive strategy when dealing with fly-tipping. Firstly all our officers are trained and equipped to effectively deal with fly-tipping through investigation and prosecution. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We use covert surveillance to target hotpot areas; this reduces the need for human resources and relies on technology to provide us with the necessary evidence for subsequent prosecutions. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We also work closely with partner organisations such as the police, Keep Wales Tidy and Natural Resources Wales to help reduce the number of fly-tipping incidents in our area. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“It’s great to see that the figures reflect all of the work we put in to keeping Carmarthenshire a clean and safe place to live.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Carmarthenshire is part of Fly-tipping Action Wales, a Welsh Government sponsored initiative to help tackle fly-tipping. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Programme Manager at Fly-tipping Action Wales Gary Evans said: “On average there are over 30,000 fly-tipping incidents in Wales a year, the equivalent of one incident per hour, costing tax payers millions in clean-up costs. And it’s not just the price of illegal dumping; it’s also a criminal offence and a waste of valuable resources. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We work with over 50 partners, including the 22 local authorities across Wales to reduce the number of cases of fly-tipping. Local authorities play an important part in the prevention and clearance of fly-tipping, and have done a fantastic job educating their local communities about fly-tipping and we look forward to seeing this work continue in the future.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​