A successful and very busy week of partnership activity, arranged to crack down on environmental crimes such as fly-tipping, littering and dog fouling in and around Caernarfon got off to a great start and is seen as the further step in a longer term campaign to improve community pride.
Fly-tipping Action Wales and partner agencies from across Gwynedd came together as part of a campaign clamping down on illegal dumping of waste and litter, to help reduce cases of fly-tipping, which costs thousands of pounds in clean-up costs each year.
The week’s activities coordinated by Fly-tipping Action Wales, Gwynedd Council (Tidy Towns), Caernarfon Town Council with partners including Keep Wales Tidy, North Wales Police, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and North Wales Probation Service (Community Payback), aimed to inform businesses, waste carriers and residents of their duty to get rid of waste legally and safely.
During the week, Environment Agency Wales Officers along with North Wales Police and Gwynedd Street Enforcement Staff carried out Waste Carrier Stop Checks, stopping 43 vehicles carrying waste to make sure they were registered as Waste Carriers and were disposing of their waste at authorised sites rather than fly-tipping. Enforcement officers also visited numerous town centre businesses and rented properties to discuss waste disposal arrangements, fire safety, etc.
One of the campaign’s successes was a large area of private land, off Waterloo Street, within the town centre. A very successful clean-up operation was coordinated by Gwynedd Council’s Street Enforcement Team. The area, which had been repeatedly fly-tipped on and cluttered with litter, was cleared with the help of two local businesses, with the Probation Service’s Community Payback Team also lending a hand.
As part of the campaign, a community clean-up operation was organised by Keep Wales Tidy’s Gwynedd Tidy Towns Project Officer, Lee Oliver. 15 volunteers helped to clear an impressive 30 bags full of litter, old bikes and a pram from the Cadnant Valley, one of the Town’s litter hot-spots. Gwynedd Council’s cleansing staff were on hand to remove the waste.
Gwynedd’s Tidy Towns Officer, Iona Thomas, also launched a new campaign aimed at reducing the unacceptable amount of cigarette litter dropped on our streets. This involved visits to local pubs to advise on the best way of reducing the problem and handing out Gwynedd’s new Tidy Towns portable ashtrays, which carry the “stub it – bin it” message and reminds users that they could risk a £75 fine if they carelessly discard their cigarette ends. Although the real star of the show was Town Clerk, Katherine Owen, who braved the cold and rain disguised as a giant cigarette stump! Iona also handed out the ever popular Tidy Towns dog fouling clean-up kits and
Anthony Randles, North Wales Co-ordinator for Fly-tipping Action Wales, said: “We’ve had a very successful week working with our partner agencies in Caernarfon and hope that more people are aware that fly-tipping is a crime and everyone has a responsibility to make sure that they get rid of their waste legally and safely. We hope this week will help reduce the number of incidents of fly-tipping in the County, as fly-tipping is an un-necessary blight on our communities and carries hefty clean up costs for tax payers.”
Councillor Gareth Roberts, Gwynedd’s Senior Portfolio Leader for the Environment said: “It is very encouraging to note that nuisance and blight caused by fly-tipping, illegal waste and litter is being tackled in an organised manner. It is clear that a great deal of effort is being made to inform the public and managers of commercial activities of their waste management responsibilities, and to make use of powers available to deal with a selfish minority that have no regard for the quality of our local environment.”
Peter Simpson, Gwynedd Council’s Streetscene manager, added:
“Gwynedd Council is committed to working with our partners and the local community to ensure that our streets and open spaces are kept clean and tidy. We have already been working closely with a number of our partners in this field, and the Caernarfon campaign will build on the good work which has already been achieved. Real team effort, a lot of goodwill and support is helping to achieve this aim, and I urge local people and businesses to continue to support the campaign as we work to take pride in our community.”
Officers from Gwynedd Council’s Street Enforcement Team were actively involved throughout the campaign, as were one of the Arfon Area Community Gangs, who will be helped with various clean-up operations throughout the town.
North Wales Police are also supporting and taking part in a Focus on Caernarfon, as Sergeant Stephen Williams explained:
“North Wales Police are happy to support this campaign as we believe that the environment we live and work in has a significant effect on crime levels and also on the fear of crime. We look forward to working with our partners and the wider community to make Caernarfon a safer place to live, work and visit.”
Caernarfon Town Mayor, Councillor Huw Edwards, welcomed the innovative partnership approach. “This is a decisive step in a longer term local campaign aimed at helping to stimulate a new sense of civic pride in Caernarfon” said Cllr Edwards.
Keep Wales Tidy, who also took part in the campaign, as the organisation’s North Wales Community Project Manager, Gruff Jones explained: “Keep Wales Tidy are a lead organisation in the Welsh Assembly Government funded Tidy Towns Initiative and we are pleased to be able to support the campaign, by working in partnership with local volunteers, to undertake a successful clean-up of Coed Cadnant. Keep Wales Tidy believes that community participation is key to tackling local litter and waste issues.”
North Wales Fire Service Officers were very actively involved in the week long campaign, as they are keen to tackle fly-tipping by making everyone aware of the potentially lethal consequences of carelessly discarding flammable waste materials – in addition to being on hand throughout the week to offer advice on other fire safety issues, including promoting the use of smoke detectors.
