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Caerphilly County Borough Council insists it is taking the issue of fly-tipping “extremely seriously” as residents and councillors call for more to be done.

A report published by the council in June this year explained there was a shortfall in the figures concerning the amount of people penalised for a range of offences, including fly-tipping, due to a staffing shortage.

The report explained the figures were “inflated” last year due to additional staffing measures but since then the council has had “difficulty” in recruiting community safety wardens, meaning roles have been vacant for “a number of months”.

Community safety wardens have the power to hand out fixed penalty notices for offences such as fly-tipping, antisocial behaviour, and dog fouling.

The latest figures released by the council are as followed:

Independent councillor for Blackwood, Nigel Dix, has told Caerphilly Observer the issue needs to be addressed at the source. He said: “At the moment, you’ve built a six-foot fence and given people who fly-tip a seven-foot ladder.

“I drive back from Newport everyday and when I see piles of rubbish on the side of the road entering Caerphilly my heart sinks.

“The Chapel of Ease in Abercarn is especially bad and nothing is being done. What kind of advert is it for the area?

“The other problem you’ve got is that fly-tipping attracts more fly-tipping. We need more cameras in place to act as a deterrent.”

When asked about what it’s doing to address fly-tipping, the council said: “Every complaint of fly-tipping is investigated by the council and where there is sufficient evidence, we will take enforcement action including issuing fixed penalty notices and/or prosecutions.

“As an authority we are constantly looking into new ways to trying to deter people from disposing of their waste illegally. This involves working with our communications team to encourage proper disposal of waste via social media, working with local communities and investing in new equipment such as CCTV and trail cameras to help alleviate the issue and aid investigations. 

“We are taking the matter extremely seriously and we are constantly using communications such as social media to try and educate people about the law of fly tipping and the associated problems it causes.”