South Wales Police Officers, along with staff from Natural Resources Wales, Cardiff Council and Newport Council
People visit the Gwent Levels to enjoy the quiet setting, watch wildlife, go for a walk or a leisurely bike ride. It’s a well-known beauty spot; a place to get away from the bustle of the city.
After visiting, most people leave the area clean and tidy, for the next people to be able to enjoy all it has to offer. However, some people do not give the area and the people who live here the respect it deserves. Waste is a problem, with fly tipping being the commonest offence.
Due to the quiet nature of this area, some people travel here to illegally dispose of rubbish and waste. This is a very serious problem. First of all, it poses a hazard to the health of the people who work, live and visit the area. It pollutes the natural environment, putting wildlife at risk. It’s also an eye sore, and the job of removing the waste is often costly.
That’s why we’ve set-up the Fly-Tipping – From Black Spots to Bright Spots project, which involves a part-time enforcement officer to work with local authorities and partners, to tackle this problem. The project has three ways of working. First, we aim to educate the people living in the area. We visit schools and classrooms, to show children and students the importance of respecting the landscape. Secondly, we raise awareness, and we provide information to the community on how they should be disposing of waste appropriately.
Lastly, we intervene, which involves more direct action. We’ve installed no-fly-tipping signs, CCTV, operate covert cameras and we organise clean-up operations. The help of volunteers is crucial for this. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, we’ve been able to remove huge amount of rubbish from the Gwent Levels. In September, volunteers removed 3.5 tonnes of waste from Duffryn. This was followed by a planting session, where we planted daffodil and wood anemone bulbs on the cleared areas. By doing this, we’re removing the ‘black spots’ of fly-tipping, and replacing with ‘bright-spots’ of flowers!
Our partners are also playing a key role in preventing further fly-tipping. Recently our partners and project lead, Natural Resources Wales ran a waste carrier stop check operation with South Wales Police, Cardiff Council and Newport Council. They stopped four vans which were carrying waste without a license, and they witnessed rubbish being burned, which will now be investigated. We hope that this will help to change attitudes and have a long-lasting effect on the area. Find details here of how you can check if a site has a permit, licence or exemption to operate legally.
For more information about what we’re doing to reduce fly-tipping on the Gwent Levels visit our Black Spots to Bright Spots project page.
