New Fly-Tipping Crackdown Set To Be Launched With Rapid Response Team

Swansea Council is continuing its crackdown on fly-tipping by creating a new rapid response team. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The team will be responsible for tackling incidents of fly-tipping across Swansea when they have been reported to the council. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Part of their role will also be to investigate sites where fly-tipping has occurred in an effort to bring a successful prosecution against anyone dumping waste illegally. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

An extra £100k will be allocated to help fund the clean-up initiative if the council’s budget is approved at its meeting on Thursday this week. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The council has created the new team on the back of the success of the dedicated pothole teams which were introduced in 2016 and have since repaired more than 1,100 potholes in the city. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “Residents want to see a tougher approach to fly-tipping; one that will lead to prosecutions and hopefully lead to a reduction of instances of fly-tipping in our communities.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The creation of the team follows a number of successful prosecutions for fly-tipping and the installation of a number of CCTV cameras at local fly-tipping hotspots. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Hopkins added: “We invest a lot of resources into cleaning up waste that has been illegally dumped. Our hope is that the cameras will help identify those that fly-tip so we can get these people into court and ensure they pay the price for their activities.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Council litter enforcement officers recently secured evidence relating to a bag of waste at a fly-tipping hot spot in Penplas during a recent clean-up and have now issued the owner of the waste with the fixed penalty. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Following the issue of the fixed penalty, residents in Swansea were urged to check that any business who is employed to dispose of domestic waste on their behalf holds an appropriate waste carriers licence. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Residents who witness any instances of fly-tipping can contact the council in confidence to report the matter either online or by phone. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​