Volunteers clear three car loads of litter from common

A group of volunteers have cleared three car loads of litter from Gelligaer Common.

Lorraine Czaja, Diane Cole and Charmaine Holton were left in disbelief at the levels of fly-tipping on the common and decided to do something about it.

Ms Czaja, who regularly walks along the common, came across mesh wiring, furniture, plastic waste and litter strewn across the natural landscape during a walk earlier in July.

The common covers land both in Caerphilly County Borough and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough.

Ms Czaja said: “The fly-tipping is spoiling it for walkers and it’s a danger to wildlife – there are ponies and sheep in the area.

“A few of us got together to remove some of the wire and other rubbish from Gelligaer Common that would be most dangerous to wildlife and other animals. 

“We managed to remove three car loads of wire plus quite a few bags of household rubbish.

“Fly tipping is abhorrent and the people who are guilty of it should be utterly ashamed.”

She added: “More needs to be done to tackle it, including covert filming, making access to council-run sites easier and speedy collection of illegally dumped rubbish to stop it being regarded as the norm. 

“In view of the fact that quite often rubbish is being dumped off the beaten track and the council is unaware of it, I would also encourage members of the public to report any incidents of illicit tipping. 

“We can also all join in in the removal of any rubbish if it can be done safely. We can all help to improve the situation.”