Swansea Council Intensifies Battle Against Fly Tippers

With the incidence of fly tipping continuing to rise local authorities are faced with the option of aggressively tackling the issue or becoming overcome with dumped tyres. Swansea Council is hoping to stamp out the illegal practice through the efforts of a newly recruited dedicated enforcement officer.

“There has been a dramatic increase in fly tipped tyres in Swansea over recent months with the discovery of hundreds of tyres being reported and found in sites though out the city,” commented Frances Williams, Swansea Council’s Enforcement and Litter Team Leader. “We have between 20 to 30 reports of fly tipped tyres per month and these numbers vary from four to four hundred per call.

“With assistance from Environment Agency Wales we are dedicating an enforcement officer solely to this type of fly tipping in a bid to reduce cases of it and hopefully stamp it out in Swansea altogether.” Part of the officer’s duties will be to visit tyre disposal businesses in Swansea. Checks will be made to ensure that proper trade contracts are in place for the correct disposal of tyres.

The Council also appealed to members of the public to help fight the battle against fly tippers in the city by providing any evidence they may have. John Hague, cabinet member for the Environment said, “The Council spends hundreds of thousands of pounds a year clearing up after fly-tippers. We want to bring the people who do this sort of thing to justice; our message is that communities do not have to put up with it. We can prosecute if we have the evidence, but we need people to come forward as witnesses.” The phone number for reporting such incidents in the Swansea region is 01792 635600.