Tuesday 26 April 2011

Fly-Tipping by Carmarthenshire Council

Carmarthenshire Council are always very keen to promote their 'green' credentials. The 'Media' section of their website proudly lists the numerous court victories and fines imposed against fly-tippers and litter-bugs. They have a clearly stated aim of "...improving the world around us, today and for tomorrow. Clean air, water and attractive surroundings...improving the way places look, from conserving wildlife to enjoying the natural world.."
also dislike such actions which spoil our lovely Carmarthenshire countryside.
...and you would think that by now, Carmarthenshire County Council itself would have learned to practice what it preached...but judging by these photographs, it would seem not.
 
photos of illegal fly-tipping perpetrated by Carmarthenshire County Council (click on an image to enlarge)

UPDATE 28th April;
In light of a recent comment on this post perhaps I should elaborate/substantiate a little more; Information released under FoI and passed on to me, including documents and the photos, are evidence that Carmarthenshire Council have been warned/cautioned for environmental breaches/illegal dumping over twenty times since 2007 (I believe it is not considered appropriate use of taxpayers money for two public bodies to fine each other - hence the official warnings). The photos are from the most recent case concluded earlier this year.

Update May 4th;
One way of cleaning this mess up is to get the locals to do it for free!
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Appeal-big-river-clean/article-3516133-detail/article.html

and a warning from  County Hall to Carmarthenshire businesses to dispose of their waste with care;
 http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Traders-reminded-waste-duty/article-3511321-detail/article.html (with comments from me)

UPDATE 18th May;
I see the local newspaper has finally picked up this story although the problem has been minimised - of course. The interesting part of this which the gentleman who is researching all this wasn't told, despite having suspicions and pursuing it at length was the identity of the landowner - who turns out to be a County Councillor
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Council-avoids-punishment-rubbish-tipping/article-3565514-detail/article.html

3 comments:

Photon said...

Hmm, I'm afraid I don't think these photos enable us to draw any real conclusions about what you say. I think there should be a clear allegation, backed-up by proper evidence, rather than diffuse claims.

caebrwyn said...

@Photon
I take your point and perhaps I should elaborate a little. Information released under FoI and passed on to me, including documents and the photos, are evidence that Carmarthenshire Council have been warned/cautioned for environmental breaches/illegal dumping over twenty times since 2007 (I believe it is not considered appropriate use of taxpayers money for two public bodies to fine each other - hence the official warnings). The photos are from the most recent case concluded earlier this year.

Photon said...

Thanks. Perhaps it mightbe an idea to put the FoIA response on Scribd, then embedded here so that we can see what's been going on?

Very interesting, given the 'red tape' environmental law culling that Cameron wants to bring in under the "red Tape Challenge".