A £12.50 council charge to collect white goods should be scrapped in order to combat fly-tipping in Adamsdown and Splott, claims a Cardiff councillor.
Fly-tipping has been a major topic of debate in the area recently, with many residents complaining to the council and taking to social media to voice their concerns.
Now, Liberal Democrat councillor for Adamsdown Nigel Howells is calling on Cardiff Council to scrap its charge for collecting white goods in order to deter people from dumping them.
“Every time you want to get rid of a fridge freezer, if you want the council to collect it you have to pay £12.50,” he said.
“I attribute that directly to the fact that the council is now charging people to pick up their waste.
“In the past that was free, and of course there are a lot of people on benefits in Adamsdown who cannot afford to pay £12.50.”
Coun Howells has urged the council to do more to halt fly-tipping, with the crime seemingly more prevalent than it has been for some time.
“I think over the last year fly-tipping has increased significantly. Personally, in the last eight months, I have reported over a hundred incidents of fly-tipping.
“Things like mattresses, fridges, sofas, you name it, it’s all been dumped.”
Although Coun Howells does concede it is a difficult task to catch the perpetrators, he believes the council could be quicker in clearing the waste left behind by fly-tippers.
“I report something and three weeks later it’s still there, so residents aren’t getting the service they should from the council on this,” he said.
“The problem is catching people, and very rarely do they catch someone fly-tipping.”
Splott resident Louise Clark was also critical of the council’s methods of dealing with fly tipping.
“I moved from Canton to Splott in May and feel Splott residents get a raw deal,” she said.
“The rubbish was not too bad last week but due to the council not clearing it up, it was added to the next day.
“The council seem happy to dish out aggressive letters about household waste, but can’t seem to deal with fly-tipping in a residential area.”
Cardiff Council has urged anyone with evidence about who is responsible for the problem to come forward.
A council spokesperson said: “The Council takes the issue of fly-tipping very seriously.
“When evidence proves a particular individual or organisation is responsible we will prosecute using all the legislative powers available to us.
“We would welcome the receipt of any information or evidence from the public or businesses that would assist in identifying fly-tipping and littering offenders so that appropriate actions can be taken.”
