Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy is alarmed to learn that latest figures show that in 2023/24 NRW dealt with over 40,000 incidents of fly tipping.
Latest figures show 42,171 incidents dealt with by councils and Natural Resources Wales in 2023-24, up 6% on the year before and at its highest for 15 years.
In Conwy, there were 1663 incidents of fly tipping, representing a 4% increase and costing CCBC over £50,000 to clear up. In Anglesey, the figure stood at 3918 incidents, representing a 55% increase on the previous year and costing the Anglesey Council £147,539.
Commenting on the news Janet said:
“It is very sad to see incidents of fly tipping increasing so much. 55% is a whopping increase and I am sure is placing significant burden on the Council in Anglesey.
“The overall cost for Welsh councils is thought to be nearly £2 million. Surely we would rather be spending these funds on vital services.
“Over the past year, local authorities have struggled to enforce against fly tipping due to the chronic lack of funding facing them across Wales.
“Meanwhile, across the border in England, several councils are considering increasing fines for offenses such as fly tipping.
“Therefore, I strongly believe that the newly planned Cross-Party Group on fly tipping, where I will serve as the Welsh Conservative representative, should seriously explore the possibility of significantly raising fines and local authorities’ ability to enforce them.
“It’s a despicable act, to dump your rubbish in our beautiful natural environment and I hope that our new group will be able to make some progress on it.”
ENDS
