Wales Faces Record Fly-Tipping Levels, Influencers Join Campaign

Social media personalities have been enlisted to address the escalating issue of fly-tipping in Wales, which has reached its highest point in 15 years. Recent statistics reveal that 42,171 incidents were managed by local authorities and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) during the 2023-24 period, marking a 6% rise from the preceding year. This count does not encompass incidents occurring on private land. Fly-tipping Action Wales has launched a campaign leveraging influencers to encourage individuals to dispose of their refuse responsibly. Heledd Roberts, a content creator for the group and daughter of a recycling centre owner, stated: “It’s a great way of being able to target a younger audience by using younger people to grab their attention.” She further commented: “Wales is known for its natural beauty, its amazing landscape. But if fly-tipping carries on this way, it won’t be Wales as we know it.” In Carmarthenshire, where Heledd resides, over 3,000 fly-tipping incidents were documented in 2023-2024, despite an 18% decrease compared to the previous year. “It’s so destroying when you’re driving home and you see all this rubbish on the side of the road.” Fly-tipping Action Wales, an initiative sponsored by the Welsh government and partnered with the environmental body NRW, aims to alleviate the financial burden on councils, which are currently allocating funds to clean-up operations instead of “vital services.” Neil Harrison, a team leader, remarked: “The topic of waste is not necessarily the most engaging.” He added that by engaging social media influencers, “we had the best reach of any campaign that we’ve ever run.” The organization highlighted that the nearly £2 million spent by Welsh councils on clean-up efforts was “hitting the public purse.” Mr. Harrison elaborated: “They’d rather be spending that money on vital services, which are stretched at the moment.” He concluded: “No-one wants to live in an area blighted by litter and fly-tipping.” Over the past year, more than 25,000 enforcement actions were taken, resulting in approximately 1,000 fines and 102 prosecutions. NRW reported that this signifies a 50% increase in successful prosecutions. This development occurs as several councils in England are contemplating increasing fines for offences such as fly-tipping. Mr. Harrison indicated that the Welsh government “aren’t currently looking at that,” though he personally advocates for stricter penalties for those who fly-tip. Fiona McAllister, from Cardiff’s Keep Grangetown Tidy group, described the figures as disheartening but “not really surprising.” She noted that her volunteer group, which has been engaged in litter picking in the area for nearly a decade, observes “an awful lot of fly-tipping.” Among their most notable discoveries have been a spray tan booth and “almost new” household items that could have been donated or reused. Ms. McAllister suggested that local authorities nationwide could reduce clean-up expenses by prioritizing public education. “It takes a while for something to bed in. The council doesn’t have much money [but] there should be more enforcement for fly-tipping.” She proposed that installing cameras in “hotspots” could serve as an effective deterrent, and making recycling centres more “user friendly” for individuals without vehicles would also be beneficial. “If they spent more on telling people how to dispose of waste properly, [they could] get more people on side.” When broken down by local authority, Newport recorded the highest number of fly-tipping incidents, exceeding 8,100, a 30% increase from the previous year. The council stated it has implemented “preventative actions” to address the issue, including deploying more CCTV in problem areas and increasing patrols by council officers. Yvonne Forsey, cabinet member for climate change and biodiversity, commented that the rise in incidents “has been matched by a corresponding increase in our action we have taken, which is in contrast to the picture across Wales as a whole.” She affirmed: “It is a blight on the environment and our city and we will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to dealing with it.” Additional reporting by Catriona Aitken Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.