Fly Tipper Fined £750
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's pledge to search all fly-tipping for evidence of offenders continues to be delivered, as a 20-year-old Cwmbach man has found out.
Enforcement officers from the local authority were contacted by colleagues from South Wales Police who had responded to a call of controlled waste dumped off of Glanaman Road, Cwmbach.
Police were initially called to the site due to the fact there were gas canisters among the waste, but were later found to be empty. The waste also comprised five recycling bags and one black bag full of household rubbish, old toys, a vacuum cleaner, a duvet and more.
Enforcement officers searched the waste, which also contained evidence linking it back to the home of Elliott Adams in Rhodfa'r Afon in Cwmbach.
As a result, Mr Adams was contacted by letter and invited to attend an interview with enforcement officers, which he attended with his mum in February 2018.
He told officers in interview he had flytipped the four or five bags on the land in Cwmaman and had done so on New Year's Eve, 2017.
He was charged with one offence of flytipping under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and appeared before Merthyr Magistrates' Court, where he admitted the offence.
He was fined £500, ordered to pay £200 costs and a £50 victim surcharge.
Following the end of the statutory timeframe in which Mr Adams is allowed to appeal his conviction, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has released details of the offence and the consequences to show it does do what it says it will do.
Nigel Wheeler, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's Director of Streetcare and Highways, said; "We receive multiple complaints of fly-tipping across our beautiful county borough every day and it will not be tolerated.
"We always promise those who take the time to report such environmental offences to us that we will check the waste for any identifying material to track down where the rubbish came from.
"As this case and many others before it proves, we do indeed do that. Our enforcement team works exceptionally hard and efficiently to respond to fly-tipping, identify and investigate offenders and, of course, remove the waste from local beauty spots.
"Removal of flytipping costs around £1million a year, money that could be invested in other services. It is also a matter of huge public concern – people don't want to travel around RCT and see old mattresses, bags of rubbish and so on just dumped.
"We have weekly kerbside collections of recycling and an extensive online list of all of the items that you can place in your clear bags. Kerbside black bag collection also continues and we have Community Recycling Centres across RCT where you can take your items for free.
"You can also arrange a bulky item collection and, for a charge, we will collect it from outside of your hours. If Mr Adams had used any of the above options, he wouldn't be paying out so much now."
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has an acclaimed zero-tolerance approach to those who fly tip, drop litter or don't pick up after their dogs.
The Who Done It campaign uses images captured by patrolling enforcement officers to identify offenders and Sort **it Out targets irresponsible dog owners and walkers who fail to pick up after their dogs, or allow them to roam in prohibited areas such as play grounds, schools and sports pitches.
Having respect for the environment and protecting it for the future also extends to recycling and the new Choice Is Clear campaign aims to increase the current RCT recycling rate of 64% to meet the Welsh Government target of 70% by 2024/5.
Residents who continually refuse to recycle, placing the wrong items in clear bags or placing recyclable items in black bags, will be spoken to and, where necessary, issued with a fixed penalty notice.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council offers kerbside collection of nappies, food waste, green waste, clear bag recycling and black bag refuse.
For more information on recycling and Community Recycling Centres in RCT, visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/crcs or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Posted on Thursday 27th September 2018
Enforcement officers from the local authority were contacted by colleagues from South Wales Police who had responded to a call of controlled waste dumped off of Glanaman Road, Cwmbach. Glanaman Road Cwmaman
