Residents of busy Severn Road in Pontcanna say litter has got worse while the street was left without a bin
A RUBBISH bin which was set alight by vandals on Pontcanna’s Severn Road has finally been replaced – after nine months.
The bin, which was the only one on the street, had to be removed from outside Severn Primary School after the firestarters struck in mid-2022.
A new one was installed on February 15.
Credit: Google Maps (2021)
Residents say the litter problem on the street has got worse during the wait for a replacement.
Norman Richards, who lives on neighbouring Orchard Place, walks down Severn Road every time he leaves the house and became fed up with the mess.
“I’ve been clearing our street and going around with a litter picker for the last 10 years,” said the 69-year-old.
He said that while littering has been a problem in the area for a while, it only got worse when the bin was taken away.
“I don’t mind picking up the litter but there will come a time when I’m not around to do it anymore,” he said.
“A lot of houses are rented on our close and I see people stepping over bags of rubbish every morning and they just don’t care.
“It’s just sad really. People drop their litter wherever, even the little parks have litter in them.”
He told The Cardiffian of his frustrations on the same day the bin was eventually replaced.
“I don’t understand why it’s taking nearly a year to replace a bin,” he said.
“If nobody makes a fuss about things, nothing gets done, it’s just one less bin for them to empty.”
Mr Richards believes the street is one of the worst in the area for littering, along with Kings Road and Cowbridge Road.
“It’s a long street, with two schools and businesses like cafes and shops on the street or nearby – yet it only had one bin,” he said.
He said that he reported the issue of the vandalised bin to the council several times over the last nine months.
Mr Richards also contacted Riverside councillor Leonora Thomson around three weeks ago.
She told The Cardiffian: “I’m very happy to say that I’ve been told the bin was replaced on 15 February.
“I’m sorry that it has taken longer than expected, but very glad to see that it’s finally happened.”
When asked what he thought about the bin finally being replaced, Mr Richards’ response was “better late than never”.
However, he isn’t the only resident who’s had enough of littering in the area.
Amy Harries, who lives and works nearby, said that she hopes to see things improve now that the bin has been replaced – but she isn’t confident that this will be the case.
“Hopefully the fact that the bin has been replaced will make a difference but looking around right now there’s still a lot of litter on the ground,” she said.
“There’s litter being dumped around the bin that’s by Canna Surgery too, and if you walk along Wyndham Crescent, it’s no better.
“It’s definitely a problem in this area but I also think it’s a Cardiff-wide issue more than anything, it’s quite depressing to look at.”
She says that people need to start taking responsibility for keeping Cardiff clean and take matters into their own hands.
A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: “If litter bins are full or there are no litter bins in the vicinity, then we kindly ask people to bring their litter home with them and dispose of it, or recycle it responsibly.”
