The council has spent more than £300,000 clearing fly-tipping in Cardiff in the past year – but Roath’s rubbish keeps on piling up
PEOPLE in Roath say they are “going mad” at the state of fly-tipping in the area, as rubbish piles high on some street corners.
City Road and some of the nearby residential streets have become over-run by open food waste and mountains of bin bags, leading to fines for both residents and businesses.
The build-up on the streets is making life hard for residents, as bin bags are becoming a trip hazard for some people.
“I’m always slipping over and tripping up on rubbish, it’s a nightmare,” said Maisie Tyler, 22, who lives metres from City Road.
“The food on the floor attracts pigeons and rats, it’s a massive problem.
“It’s a complete nuisance. I don’t know what the solution is, but this can’t go on.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “A significant amount of work is being done in both Cathays and Plasnewydd to ensure that residents and businesses put their waste out for collection correctly in the correct container, at the right time and on the correct day.
“If waste is not presented for collection correctly – rubbish bags are ripped open by birds or animals scavenging for food which creates litter on our streets.”
One group fighting back is Keep Roath Tidy, a volunteer litter-picking group which meets every Saturday morning.
Elizabeth Burggraaf, 48, has been a member for nearly 10 years and regularly hears complaints about the state of the road.
“We’re having real problems with the top of City Road, towards Glenroy Street. The bins there need to be sorted, they’re disgusting,” she said.
“We’ve noticed that drums of oil from the takeaways are just being dumped outside. People are always complaining about the amount of rubbish they generate; it’s a persistent problem.
“One business owner told us that he’s going mad. It’s a regular problem for him, and he’s constantly reporting people dumping their bin bags outside his business.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “Last year, in Cathays and Plasnewydd, the council issued 2683 enforcement notices and 342 Fixed Penalty Notices against residents and businesses for failing to present their waste correctly.
“This year, the council has already issued 2661 enforcement notices and 96 Fixed Penalty Notices.”
With the problem becoming more widespread in Roath, there are concerns that the waste issue is harming the area’s reputation.
“It’s embarrassing. When you have friends and family visiting, you want to avoid these kinds of areas,” Mrs Burggraaf said.
(credit: William Dalgleish)
(credit: Michelle Morgan)
The problem is a drain on the council as well as businesses. In 2023-24, Cardiff Council spent over £300,000 on clearance costs for fly-tipping related incidents.
“Things have gotten better since the council put gates up in a lot of the lanes, which has made a really big difference,” Mrs Burggraaf said.
“The council is quite quick at cleaning up the mess. If you report it on the Cardiff app, they usually come within 48 hours, but then the next thing you know it’s happened again. It’s a recurring problem.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “If anyone spots fly-tipping, the most effective way of reporting it to us, is via our website (www.cardiff.gov.uk/flytipping) or via the Cardiff Gov app. That way, we will have an exact location and all the information necessary to investigate.”
