The bins on chippy lane the night of Wales vs Ireland Credit: George Ratcliffe
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So, what happened to all the rubbish left on the streets after Wales v Ireland?

Chippy Lane was littered with rubbish at 10pm on Saturday night but by Sunday morning it had all gone

THERE was much to celebrate for Welsh rugby fans last Saturday (February 22) despite another loss, but some fans took this as an excuse to throw their post-match kebabs all over Cardiff city centre.

This issue arises after most big events in the capital but is particularly rife after Six Nations games. 

The height of the chip box used for this calculation is 85mm Credit: George Ratcliffe

Following Wales’ first home game of the 2025 Six Nations, Caroline Street, also known as Chippy Lane, was littered with chip boxes and rubbish piled high around the bins.

After a game day, up to 8.5 tonnes of rubbish is left on the streets across Cardiff by fans and others out for the evening. 

Most of the rubbish I saw on Chippy Lane were used chip boxes, for reference the average chip box weighs up to 100 grams which means there could be up to the equivalent of 85,000 chip boxes left on the streets of Cardiff after game day. 

If you stacked all those chip boxes on top of each other it would reach a staggering height of 6,800 metres.

Obviously not all the rubbish is made up of chip boxes but it is still a mammoth task to clean it all up.

So, how is all this managed and who cleans it?

Cardiff Council has a three-step system in place to make sure the city centre is looking spick and span the morning after a big event. 

Step 1

Before the game or concert takes place, the whole city is cleaned with all litter bins being totally emptied.

Step 2

When everyone has gone into the stadium, the bins are emptied again while the streets are cleaned. The cleaning crews leave the city again before the event ends. 

Step 3

Between 3am and 4am the morning after the event the crews return to do the final clean up. This can take up to five hours depending on how much rubbish is collected.

Rubbish left near bins on Chippy Lane just after 10pm Credit: George Ratcliffe
Piles of chip boxes litter Chippy Lane just after 10pm Credit: George Ratcliffe
Rubbish left on the benches outside of the Wood Street Burger King just after 10pm Credit: George Ratcliffe
Rubbish left on the benches outside of the Wood Street Burger King just after 10pm Credit: George Ratcliffe

When the crowd at a city centre event numbers more than 72,000 people, the cleaning crews do not go out onto the streets until it has dispersed. 

Cardiff Council was asked for the data from the night of last Saturday’s game, but it is not yet available.

Wales’ next home game is against England on March 15 when the hard-working crews will be back out on the streets.