16 September 2011
The recent rain and wind has not deterred numerous organisations and volunteers who have come together to help give Caerphilly a spruce up!
Organisations including various departments from Caerphilly County Borough Council, Welsh Government funded initiative Fly Tipping Action Wales, United Welsh Housing and Groundwork Caerphilly, as well as a number of local volunteers braved the elements last week to help give Caerphilly a general clean and tidy.
On Monday and Tuesday, the team was out and about in the town and surrounding areas collecting litter and offering advice to residents about the laws surrounding fly-tipping and littering. In one morning alone, the team collected almost 3 tonnes of litter! A good job well done!
Fly-tipping Action Wales and Groundwork Caerphilly also surveyed around 300 households in the area to gather information from residents on getting rid of waste.
Towards the end of the week, the focus switched to enforcement, with teams out and about in and around the town aiming to educate people on laws surrounding dog fouling and the disposal of litter, particularly focussing on the disposal of cigarette ends, and enforcing the law by issuing Fixed Penalty Notices where necessary.
Cllr Lyn Ackerman, Cabinet Member for Public Services said, "This multi-agency clean up in and around Caerphilly, will I hope, really help to promote pride in our environment".
Cllr Rob Gough, Cabinet Member for Public Protection continued, "While the vast majority of our residents do take their environmental responsibilities very seriously, and wouldn't even consider dropping litter, allowing their dog to foul public areas without picking it up or fly-tipping, the fact remains that there is a very small minority who do feel that this is acceptable behaviour".
"I want to make it very clear that it is not acceptable, and it is multi-agency campaigns such as this which clearly emphasise our stance on dealing with those responsible through education and enforcement", he added.
Norma Greene, Project Officer for Fly-tipping Action Wales said, "More than £25 million is being injected into The Valleys to help maximise the area's potential and we cannot sit back and let fly-tippers blight our communities and beautiful landscapes. We all have responsibility to get rid our waste recently and safely, and this campaign is aimed at engaging with the community, and informing everyone about their duty of care".
She continued, "This campaign has been very successful so far, and we look forward to continuing the joint working activities".
This week the activity will continue, with further fly-tipping and litter enforcement and educational activities planned in Caerphilly and surrounding areas.
Fly-tipping Action Wales is working on the joint campaign as part of the Valleys Regional Park project, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Government.
The project involves Fly-tipping Action Wales joining forces with partners in nine local authorities across south Wales, including Caerphilly County Borough Council on campaigns such as this to help reduce fly-tipping in order to create cleaner and greener places for people to live and work.
Caerphilly StreetPride is a council initiative that brings together the services that keep Caerphilly county borough clean, green and safe. Its aim is to work with residents to keep streets and neighbourhoods at a standard that promotes pride and community responsibility.
To report environmental concerns such as littering, dog fouling or fly-tipping in Caerphilly county borough, please call Caerphilly StreetPride on 01443 866566 or visit www.caerphilly.gov.uk/streetpride. Alternatively, contact the Environment Agency on 0870 850 6506.
To get involved in a community clean up, please contact Rhodri Lloyd on 01495 235 178.
For further information on the work of Fly-tipping Action Wales in the Valleys Regional Park, a project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Government, please visit www.flytippingactionwales.org
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