Residents fear it will lead to more dumped dog waste and put off people wanting to clean up the area
REMOVING bins in Penarth will encourage owners to dump their dogs’ waste and put off volunteer litter-pickers, say frustrated residents.
Vale of Glamorgan Council has removed litter bins from popular dog-walking areas to save money. But some believe this will add to fly-tipping and spoil the work of people who have trying to keep the area tidy.
“It is a disgrace that the council has removed bins from this friendly dog-walking area. Surely it will just compound the issue of fly-tipping within the community,“ said Penarth resident, Felix Hughes.
“It is going in completely the wrong direction,” the 21-year-old added while walking his dog, Cosmo.
Mr Hughes gestured to the growing pile of poo bags left by dog walkers at a site where a litter bin was removed on a popular dog-walking route – the old railway track path that runs from Penarth Railway station to Cosmeston.
Vale of Glamorgan Council announced it was removing bins at several sites across the county following a review launched in November 2024. Under its budget proposals for 2025-26, the council said it wanted to reduce their number by 25% to save money.
Dog walker Gwyneth Jones, of Penarth, is also frustrated.
“The council seems to believe it saves them money to clear up rubbish at a later date after it has been blown around everywhere. Those that dislike this regularly go around cleaning up. But people also need to clean up after themselves.”
Jeff Tree, a regular litter-picker at Penarth Marina, finds it “absolutely disgusting”.
He campaigned for a bin at Llwyn Passat Car Park near Plas Taliesin in the marina three years ago and warns that many volunteers will stop collecting litter if they have nowhere to dispose of it.
“I have been litter-picking for over five years, every morning at 7am around Penarth Marina. During that time it has become much cleaner.
“Since then there has been hardly any litter, which is just proving my point that removing the bins is just going to increase litter from streets, car parks and children’s playgrounds.
“If the bins go, so do the litter-pickers. Where will we put the rubbish that we clear up? The removal of rubbish bins will inevitably have a knock-on effect. To me, it’s just insane.”
Penarth resident, Nicola Reekie, agreed.
“It would be comical if it wasn’t going to cause such devastation to our community. Bins are there for putting rubbish in them,” she said.
Vale council is removing “a larger number of older mixed waste rubbish bins found to be either under-utilised or attracting fly-tipping”. It will place new on-street recycling bins in 24 sites across the Vale to improve recycling.
Councillor Mark Wilson, the Vale’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “Our new bins are in the areas they are most needed. Litter bins are primarily for visitors to an area and therefore we are concentrating them in our town centres and resorts.
“We’ve been careful when identifying older bins for removal to make sure that all communities are still well served and able to responsibly dispose of their litter.
“We are also seeking to tackle the issue of fly-tipping in residential areas by removing bins that were being abused by a small minority. We believe that by doing so we will remove the temptation to dispose of waste in public places rather than sorting it responsibly at home like most residents.”
But Penarth residents are calling on the council to rethink its strategy. “If anything the council should increase the number of bins or increase the size of the bins because it’s part of their job,” said Mr Tree.
Ward councillor Rhys Thomas added: “People are right to expect adequate bin provision, and there’s no doubt that the council’s decision will lead to more rubbish being dumped across our town. The council should rethink their decision and listen to residents for once.”
