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.”
Cardiff Council has issued fines to several shops and residences in the area, but this hasn’t stopped the rubbish piles on City Road from growing.
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.”
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.”
- If you see a build-up of litter or fly-tipping, you can report it on the Cardiff Council website.
