Original by Mari Jones, North Wales Weekly News - http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/6000-north-wales-fly-t…
Almost 6,000 North Wales fly-tipping cases go unprosecuted...in just one year
There were nearly 6,000 fly-tipping incidents across North Wales in 2014/15, but less than 1% of cases were successfully prosecuted, according to new figures.
The majority of the 31 prosecutions across North Wales were by Wrexham Council, which successfully prosecuted 27 people.
Despite nearly 1,000 incidents of fly-tipping in Conwy last year, not a single prosecution was made there either.
Latest Welsh Government figures show just 104 successful fly-tipping prosecutions across the whole of Wales, representing just 0.3% of the 31,713 total recorded incidents.
Concerns have been raised regarding the failure by the Welsh Government and local authorities to crack down on this offence, which contributes to the £70m annual cost of environmental crime in Wales.
There are fears fly-tipping is going to increase in Conwy as the county moves towards four-weekly bin collections.
A resident in Llanelian said: “People tend to ‘decorate’ the lanes with their unwanted items, even though it’s probably nearer to take them to the recycling facilities in Mochdre.
“Over the past few months, we’ve seen a cooker, a three-piece suite, a settee, a couple of armchairs, numerous black bin bags, wood and - would you believe - a chaise longue.
“We’ve also seen items dumped in the lay-by just outside Bryn y Maen and black bin bags along the narrow lanes in the area.
“Many people are concerned. The situation is going to get far worse when the four-weekly bin collections are launched.”
Janet Finch-Saunders, AM for Aberconwy, said: “It is clear that the Welsh Government and local authorities need to do much more to punish those that illegally dump waste and to crack down on these incidents, which cause unsightly blights on our valued communities.
“The Welsh Government must work with local authorities to improve on a 0.3% success rate.
“Moves to trial four-weekly collections in Conwy Council will surely add to the problem and are already causing huge uproar.”
Cllr Philip Evans, Conwy’s cabinet member for regulation, said: “This authority takes fly-tipping seriously and will act on and pursue any case brought to its attention.
“Conwy spends thousands of pounds a year collecting and properly disposing of fly-tipped waste, as do private land owners.
“We have a prosecution for fly-tipping pending.”