#waste-carrier — Public Fediverse posts

CWMGWRACH: Rhondda man taken on to clear building waste dumped it on the road to Unity Mine

A Rhondda man taken on to get rid of construction waste has been given a 12-month community order after it was found dumped in two large piles on the access road to Unity Mine in Cwmgwrach.

Shane Richards, of Maerdy Road, Ferndale, must also pay Neath Port Talbot Council £1,016.97 in costs and the Crown Prosecution Service £85, more than £1,100 in all.

Plasterboard and plaster left on the Unity Mine road

The dumping was reported to the council in November 2024. Its investigating officer found two large piles of waste, mainly plasterboard and plaster, the council says.

The investigation led officers to an address in Treherbert, where it was confirmed that Richards had been used as a subcontractor to take the waste away.

A check of Natural Resources Wales waste exemption records confirmed the land did not have the permit needed for waste to be deposited there.

Interviews ignored, then nearly two years until Merthyr sentencing

Richards was invited to several interviews in February 2025 but did not attend or respond, according to the council.

He appeared at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 October to be sentenced for the fly-tipping offence, along with several unrelated shoplifting offences.

His 12-month community order comes with 12 months of supervision and a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement.

Scott Jones: fly-tipping is ‘a serious environmental crime’

Cllr Scott Jones, the council’s cabinet member for streetscene, called fly-tipping “a serious environmental crime that damages our communities, harms the local environment and places an unnecessary burden on public resources”.

He said Neath Port Talbot was “a beautiful county with vast areas of countryside”, and that the council’s Waste Enforcement Team “works tirelessly to investigate incidents such as this and to hold those responsible to account”.

He thanked residents who report fly-tipping and urged anyone who sees it happen to keep passing on information so the council can act.

Paying someone to take your rubbish? Check their waste carrier licence

The council is urging residents and businesses to hand their waste only to authorised carriers. Anyone can check a waste carrier’s licence on the Natural Resources Wales register.

Last week a Swansea firm boss was ordered to pay almost £3,000 after business waste his company had collected, using a subcontractor, was dumped in three piles on Baran Road above Pontardawe.

Neath Port Talbot recorded 884 fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25, up 40% on the year before, according to Welsh Government figures.

The Welsh Government’s consultation on raising the maximum on-the-spot fine for fly-tipping from £400 to £5,000 closes on Wednesday.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

PONTARDAWE: Firm boss must pay almost £3,000 after three piles of business waste dumped on mountain road
Last week’s subcontractor case on Baran Road.

YSTRADGYNLAIS: Man hit with £1,200-plus bill for dumping household junk on Gwrhyd mountain road
Another Neath Port Talbot prosecution.

LITTER: You could be fined for rubbish thrown from your car even if you weren’t in it, and fly-tippers could face £5,000
The consultation on tougher on-the-spot fines, closing on Wednesday.

More on fly-tipping
Every prosecution and crackdown across south west Wales.

PONTARDAWE: Firm boss must pay almost £3,000 after three piles of business waste dumped on mountain road

A Swansea businessman must pay almost £3,000 after three large piles of commercial waste were dumped on Baran Road in Pontardawe.

Black bags, food packaging and cardboard were left in three separate heaps on the road in November 2025, Neath Port Talbot Council says.

Thomas Daniel Landek, 37, of Maes y Gwernen Drive, Cwmrhydyceirw, pleaded guilty at Swansea Magistrates’ Court to an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 relating to the illegal deposit of controlled waste.

He was fined £1,152 and ordered to pay a £461 victim surcharge, plus £1,246.46 in prosecution costs and compensation: £2,859.46 in total.

Baran Road waste traced to a Swansea business

The council’s waste enforcement officers found evidence in the rubbish linking it to a business premises in Swansea.

That business’s waste had been collected by a company owned and run by Landek, and investigators also linked the dumped waste to a vehicle he controlled, the council says.

Interviewed under caution, Landek confirmed he was the company’s sole director, and that a subcontractor had done the collection using one of his company’s vehicles, according to the council.

Scott Jones: ‘serious harm to the surrounding environment’

“This case involved several large piles of commercial waste in Pontardawe, which would have caused serious harm to the surrounding environment,” said Cllr Scott Jones, the council’s cabinet member for streetscene.

“Fly-tipping damages our communities, countryside and public spaces, and we will continue investigating offences thoroughly and making those responsible be held accountable for their actions.”

He reminded businesses and householders “of the importance of ensuring that anyone they pay to remove waste is properly authorised and disposes of it lawfully”.

A £1,152 fine, more than double last week’s Gwrhyd Road case

His fine is more than double the £440 handed to an Ystradgynlais man last week for dumping household junk on the mountain road above Rhiwfawr.

In July, a Morriston man was fined £200 after oil-covered car parts were strewn along two miles of road in the Dulais Valley.

The most a Welsh council can currently hand out on the spot for fly-tipping is £400, and the Welsh Government is consulting on raising that to £5,000 until 14 October.

Neath Port Talbot recorded 884 fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25, up 40% on the year before, according to Welsh Government figures. The council has also been crushing fly-tippers’ vans.

Anyone paying for waste to be taken away can check a waste carrier’s licence on the Natural Resources Wales register.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

YSTRADGYNLAIS: Man hit with £1,200-plus bill for dumping household junk on Gwrhyd mountain road
Last week’s Neath Port Talbot prosecution.

LITTER: You could be fined for rubbish thrown from your car even if you weren’t in it, and fly-tippers could face £5,000
The consultation on tougher on-the-spot fines, open until 14 October.

FLY-TIPPING: Morriston man must pay more than £1,400 after waste strewn along two miles of Dulais Valley road
Oil-covered car parts between Crynant and Cilfrew.

More on fly-tipping
Every prosecution and crackdown across south west Wales.

Neath Port Talbot crushes fly-tippers’ vehicles as crackdown intensifies

New figures released by the Welsh Government and Fly-tipping Action Wales reveal that whilst fly-tipping incidents have risen nationally by 14.7 per cent, Neath Port Talbot has maintained its strong enforcement record, seizing and crushing vehicles belonging to offenders caught dumping waste illegally.

Recent prosecutions include Richard Darren Barwell, whose vehicle was seized and crushed after an investigation found he had dumped house renovation waste at two locations in Briton Ferry.

The council’s tough approach comes as Wales recorded over 48,000 fly-tipping incidents last year — around 133 every day — with household waste accounting for 71 per cent of all illegal dumps. Nationally, more than 1,500 fines were issued alongside 69 successful prosecutions.

Cllr Scott Jones, Cabinet Member for Streetscene, said seizing and crushing vehicles sends a powerful message to would-be offenders.

“Seizing and crushing vehicles is an effective way of sending a strong message to fly-tippers that we take the crime extremely seriously,” Cllr Jones said.

“This Council is using a variety of methods – including surveillance cameras – to proactively catch the culprits who are blighting our environment. Anyone who fly-tips risks an unlimited fine and a prison sentence of up to five years.”

The council’s commitment to strengthening enforcement has been backed by a dedicated Welsh Government grant to support camera-based projects aimed at catching offenders in the act.

One of the new cameras will be installed at the site of the authority’s recently unveiled community mural in Melin, created in collaboration with Fly-tipping Action Wales, celebrity artist Nathan Wyburn and Year 5 pupils from Ysgol Melin.

The striking mural, which features piercing green eyes and the bilingual warning “No fly tipping — don’t waste our future,” was designed by the pupils themselves as a creative response to the problem blighting their community.

Neath Port Talbot has achieved significant success in tackling fly-tipping, recording a 26 per cent reduction in incidents this year — one of the largest decreases across all Welsh local authorities.

The council prosecutes large-scale, repeat or commercial fly-tipping, as well as the dumping of hazardous waste, whilst issuing fixed penalty notices for smaller-scale offences including littering, minor fly-tipping and failing to check a waste carrier’s licence.

Heidi Pawlin, Programme Manager for Fly-tipping Action Wales, said the problem damages communities and costs taxpayers millions.

“Fly-tipping damages our environment, costs taxpayers millions, and undermines communities,” Ms Pawlin said.

“Help keep your local community clean – if you’re paying someone to take your waste away, always check they have a waste carrier’s licence with Natural Resources Wales.”

Householders who fail to check whether their waste carrier is properly licensed face a fixed penalty of £300, or a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record if the case goes to a Magistrates Court.

The penalties for fly-tipping itself are even more severe, with offenders facing unlimited fines and prison sentences of up to five years.

Residents can check whether a waste carrier is registered by visiting naturalresources.wales/CheckWasteLicence or calling 0300 065 3000.

The Welsh Government figures show that 71 per cent of fly-tipping incidents involve household waste, highlighting the importance of householders taking responsibility for ensuring their rubbish is disposed of legally.

Fly-tipping Action Wales is a Welsh Government-sponsored initiative established in 2007 to tackle illegal dumping. The all-Wales partnership includes more than 50 organisations, including the 22 Welsh local authorities, Natural Resources Wales, Keep Wales Tidy, the three National Park Authorities, Network Rail, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, the Fire Service and all four Welsh police forces.

Swansea man handed record penalty for transporting waste without licence

Leon Medlam, of Long View Road, Clase, Swansea, was fined £1,760 and ordered to pay £4,500 in costs, £150 in compensation, and a £704 victim surcharge — totalling £7,114.

The case was heard at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 10 October 2025. Medlam did not attend and was found guilty in his absence.

Joint operation in Llanelli

The prosecution followed a joint day of action on 2 April 2025 in Bynea, Llanelli, where Natural Resources Wales (NRW) worked alongside Dyfed‑Powys Police, Carmarthenshire County Council, and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

The operation targeted vehicles carrying waste to ensure they were properly licensed, helping to prevent illegal dumping and protect the environment.

Medlam was stopped while transporting scrap metal and other controlled waste without a valid licence. He was cautioned and given 10 working days to register with NRW, but despite repeated follow‑ups he failed to comply.

“Clear message” on waste crime

Huwel Manley, NRW’s Head of Operations for South West Wales, said the record penalty underlined the seriousness of waste crime.

“This enforcement outcome sends a clear message: if you transport waste without a valid licence, you will be held accountable. Illegal waste activity harms our environment, undermines responsible businesses, and erodes public trust. Natural Resources Wales will continue to work with partners to crack down on waste crime and protect communities across Wales.”

NRW praised the strong partnership working that made the enforcement possible and reaffirmed its commitment to tackling waste crime.

“These joint operations help protect communities and the environment, while supporting legitimate businesses that follow the rules,” Mr Manley added.

Legal responsibilities

Under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989, businesses that regularly transport waste must be registered as waste carriers. Even if waste is moved infrequently, if it is part of a business’s usual activity, a licence is legally required.

NRW stressed that registering as a waste carrier is a quick and simple process, and holding a valid licence ensures waste is taken to authorised disposal or recycling facilities rather than being fly‑tipped.

Members of the public are also legally required to check that anyone they pay to dispose of waste holds a valid licence. If illegally dumped waste is traced back to its source, the individual who arranged the disposal may also face prosecution and a fine.

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