A councillor has called for fly-tipping fines to be increased.
In an Environment and Sustainability Scrutiny committee held on Tuesday, December 7, Councillor Bob Owen questioned whether the minimum fine for fly-tipping could be raised.
Cllr Owen, who represents Risca West as an independent, added: “We are all victims of it in terms of the environment.”
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It is illegal to dispose of rubbish on the highway, council land or private land and carries a fine of up to £20,000.
Mark Williams, corporate director of environment and economy at the council, said that the fines for fly-tipping were “woefully inadequate”.
Mr Williams added that the responsibility of setting fines is with the magistrate’s court.
The issue of fly-tipping was initially raised by Cllr Colin Elsbury at the meeting.
Cllr Elsbury, who represents the St Martins ward for Plaid Cymru, asked how much the council spends on cleaning up instances of fly-tipping.
Mr Williams said he did not have this information but said hiring a skip costs around £250-£300.
A Freedom of Information request to the council showed there were 1,760 reported incidents of fly-tipping in 2020, an increase on 2016’s total of 1,134 incidents.
Mr Williams said: “I do not know whether fly-tipping has increased, or whether the reports have increased.”
He said the increase in reports could be because of people using their local area more since the pandemic.
Information on fly-tipping within the county borough will be brought to the next meeting in 2022.
You can report instances of fly-tipping here
