Blaenau Gwent Council has successfully prosecuted three people for offences relating to side waste enforcement.
The individuals from Blaenau Gwent were prosecuted in connection with non-compliance of the Council’s “No Side Waste Enforcement Policy”. This was introduced in June 2018 in an effort to improve the Council’s recycling rates and to ensure that the recycling targets set by the Welsh Government are met.
Two individuals from Tredegar were fined £220.00 with costs of £62.50 and victim surcharge of £30.00 each, with a third individual, also from Tredegar, fined £220.00, with costs of £125.00 and a victim surcharge of £30.00.
Further individuals have been issued Fixed Penalty Notices for side waste enforcement, which have been paid prior to Court action.
In an effort to avoid the fines imposed by the Courts, the residents were offered support and advice on a number of occasions to ensure their compliance with the Council’s policy, which they chose not to accept.
Furthermore, the original Fixed Penalty Notice was for £100, however this was ignored despite a number of reminders being sent to the residents. This ultimately led to the Council taking Court action to recover the costs.
Since the implementation of the Council’s “No Side Waste Enforcement Policy”, these are the first cases to have gone to Court for non-payment of the Fixed Penalty Notice issued to residents, from the 12 Fixed Penalty Notices, in total, issued. Further cases are now being prepared for Court proceedings to be initiated against those residents with outstanding fines against them who are yet to pay.
Councillor Garth Collier, the Council’s Executive Member for the Environment says:
“We are continually working with residents on how they can recycle better and the support that we can provide.
Before any fines are issued, the Council will attempt to work with households on how they can recycle. Issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice is a last resort. On each occasion the householder continually exceeded the amount of refuse allowed per household for collection and as such demonstrates an unwillingness to recycle.
Not recycling has an impact on others in the community. Failure to achieve these targets in previous years has resulted in the Council being issued with substantial financial penalties by Welsh Government. This is money which could have been used to provide other much needed services.
We have a number of campaigns that are running including Keeping Up With The Joneses which informs residents of what can be recycled, the services available and the impact and cost of not recycling. Further information about this campaign can be found on the Council’s website as well as how to order recycling receptacles. You can also contact C2BG on 01495 311556.”