Cameras rolled out and higher fines considered in fly-tipping crackdown

Daniel Bevan - Editor

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The Welsh Government is stepping up efforts to tackle illegal waste dumping, announcing new surveillance measures and a review of penalty levels as part of a broader crackdown on fly-tipping across Wales.

Funding has been allocated for the rollout of new monitoring technology alongside enforcement support for local authorities,

Between April 2023 and March 2024, 42,171 fly-tipping incidents were reported across Wales, with household waste involved in 71% of cases.

As part of the initiative, Fly-tipping Action Wales will distribute 150 new trail cameras to councils to monitor known dumping hotspots and support enforcement activity aimed at deterring offenders and improving local environments.

Additional grants have also been awarded to Denbighshire, Flintshire, Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire councils to support enforcement and camera-based projects.

Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change, Huw Irranca-Davies, said: “There is never any excuse for fly tipping.

“It blights our streets, countryside and communities, and people the length and breadth of the country are rightly angry about it.

“We are determined to clean up our communities, and these new cameras will help us do just that.

“Our continued funding makes sure local authorities have access to enforcement expertise, surveillance equipment and legal support they need to catch and punish those who break the law.”

Neath Port Talbot Council plans to integrate the new equipment into its current waste enforcement approach to improve detection and prosecution rates.

Neath Port Talbot Councillor Scott Jones, Cabinet Member for Streetscene, said: “The grant funding from Welsh Government has enabled us to invest in new surveillance cameras to support our fight against fly-tipping.

“The equipment will be added to the various tools that are already proving invaluable, allowing our Waste Enforcement Team and Legal Services to take a far more proactive approach in identifying offenders and securing successful prosecutions.

“Fly-tipping is an environmental crime that blights our communities. By strengthening our enforcement capabilities, we are sending a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated in Neath Port Talbot.”

Alongside enforcement measures, The Welsh Government are reviewing fixed penalty notice limits for fly-tipping and household waste duty of care offences to assess whether existing fines act as a sufficient deterrent.

The Deputy First Minister added: “We have listened to local authorities who want stronger tools to tackle this problem, and we will consider whether current penalty levels are sufficient to deter would-be offenders.

“But we all have a role to play. I urge everyone to check that anyone they pay to remove waste is a registered waste carrier. If your waste ends up fly-tipped, you could face a fine or prosecution and risk a criminal record.”