Rhondda Cynon Taf Council continues its comprehensive crackdown on litter, dog fouling, flyposting, flytipping, graffiti and waste issues throughout the county borough.
The Council’s Streetcare Enforcement Team, which was launched in April 2006 remains pro-active in its many initiatives to combat what has become a blight on communities everywhere.
With enforcement powers available, officers can serve notices on people that can also lead to prosecution which could result in fines or even imprisonment.
Since April 2010 a total of 163 fixed penalty notices of £75 have been issued for a wide range of environmental crimes, including fly posting, graffiti, dog fouling, fly tipping, litter and incorrect disposal of trade waste.
Of these 57 were due general littering and 83 involved misuse of the disposal of trade waste in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
During the same period 1,390 warning letters were also issued to individuals in a major crackdown on crimes that are a blight on the landscape of the county borough.
Letters were sent to 492 individuals over the incorrect disposal of their domestic waste and 824 were due to fly tipping offences.
The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Frontline Services Cllr Anthony Christopher said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have such a pro-active and enthusiastic Streetcare Team who remain committed to using innovative schemes and initiatives to combat these blights on our towns and villages.
“This is to ensure that Rhondda Cynon Taf will be a community where everyone who lives, works or visits the area will enjoy the benefits of a better quality of life.
“These crimes are an eyesore and in some cases a health hazard to our county borough and we must do all we can to eradicate them.
“This is part of our commitment to making Rhondda Cynon Taf a cleaner and healthier place to live. This is something we take extremely seriously and remain vigilant in our efforts to remove such eyesores and health hazards.”
In 2009 more than 550 fixed penalty notices were issued to individuals who committed acts of environmental crime.
Of these the greater majority were issued for those individuals who discarded rubbish from their vehicles – ranging from cigarette butts to banana skins – and amounted to 265 fines being issued. Refusal to pay the £75 notices led to some of these being dealt with at Magistrates Court and often resulting in several hundred pounds worth of fines and costs being imposed on them when found guilty.
The second most prolific offenders were traders who did not dispose of their commercial waste legally – under their duty of care agreement – and of those 232 were fined.
Please report any incidents to the Councils Customer Services Section on 01443 494700
