At one property (pictured above), food, takeaway wrappers, old electrical items, plastic and drinks bottles, and other waste spills out of black bags and cascades down the steps like some kind of rubbish waterfall.
At another location an old mattress rests against a dog waste bin.
And the list of locations littered with rubbish in the Uplands and Brynmill areas of Swansea goes on. It's an appalling scene and the rats and other creatures which feed off what we no longer want must be having a feast.
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The people living in these areas say the problem is an annual one, but that it just gets worse and worse every year. They are divided, however, over who’s to blame.
These are communities with a high proportion of houses of multiple occupation, many of which are occupied by students at the city's two universities. Students and landlords have both been criticised over the problem, with some residents saying they have been left having to clean up the mess. Students have also been criticised for other reasons. At the end of last year we reported on how Brynmill had seen packed house parties taking place at the height of the second lockdown.
Most residents did not want to be named by WalesOnline, but were keen to highlight the problem of rubbish.
“Businesses are sick of it” said one local resident who had been left concerned that the waste problem damaged the nearby trade and footfall.
“It doesn’t look good on the area and everyone is ashamed to live here but I don’t know who’s to blame.”
Another resident said: “This happens every year and has been for years, the students are the main problem, if they cared a little more about the area we wouldn’t be in this situation. There needs to be some form of enforcement.”
One resident said: “Don’t leave it, just clean up yourself”, suggesting the photographer who took the pictures of the rubbish should be the ones cleaning up the mess.
And it's not just Brynmill and Uplands affected. One Swansea resident argued the problem had now started trickling down into Sandfields.
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“HMO owners have started dumping in Oystermouth Road, which everyone in Swansea uses” said the concerned resident. “One day there will be a nasty accident or death because of these objects being left on the roadside. It is the responsibility of the owners of these businesses to ensure that correct disposal of household waste is done. It never happens”.
However, landlord Kim Carpenter, who owns a residence in Glanbrydan, has argued that not all landlords are irresponsible
“Some of us landlords certainly do take responsibility for both the inside and outside of our premises. I cannot be there watching the tenants every day, although we do regularly visit. During the past two weeks we have made several trips to the tip disposing of furnishings, discarded belongings and rubbish” she said.
Despite questions over who’s accountable for the waste, Uplands Councillor Peter May said he believed more could be done about the re-occurring problem.
“When 4,000 people all move house at the same time, it puts a strain on public services to clear up, the council and university, however, do put extra collections on.”
He added: “It has to be an ongoing project as people move out over this two-week period, lots of people can play their part to help ease the situation…tenants being picked up by their parents can always do a quick trip to our recycling sites”.
A Swansea University spokesperson said: “Swansea University appreciates that rubbish left behind by a small minority of students can be a concern for some residents, and it’s something we take very seriously.”
“For the third year running, we’ve made a contribution of £2,000 towards extra waste collections and street cleaning in our local community. Students have been encouraged to donate unwanted items into donation bins provided by the YMCA, and to donate non-perishable foods to local foodbanks.”
A spokesman for Swansea Council said: "We work closely with the universities to provide information to students to remind them of their waste collection days. Letters were also sent to all HMOs in the Uplands and Brynmill area providing additional information about managing household waste in the lead up to the end of term. Swansea University has also assisted this year with clearing of excess waste."
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