Local authority recorded seven fly-tipping clear-ups per day in 2025

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

Fly-tipped rubbish was cleared up an average of seven times a day in one Welsh county last year, new figures show.

In Swansea, there were 2,579 recorded incidents where waste was removed across the county during 2024-25. The mess left on streets and in the countryside has been described as a blight on communities, while also consuming council resources that could be deployed elsewhere.

The number was given in answer to a written question to the council by Cllrs Peter Black, Sam Bennett and Tony Fitzgerald.

Cllr Black said he regularly reported fly-tipped rubbish in his Cwmbrwla ward and reckoned the area looked better as a result as it helped the council keep on top of it.

The Liberal Democrat councillor urged people to dispose of rubbish responsibly and, while welcoming a planned £250,000 increase in the council’s fly-tipping and enforcement budget in 2026-27, said more enforcement was key.

Referring to fly-tipped rubbish, Cllr Black said: “This is costing the council a fortune, and it brings an area down.”

The highest number of incidents in 2024-25 were in more populous wards. Uplands had the most with 427, followed in joint second by Castle – covering a swathe of the city centre and Mount Pleasant – and Townhill, both with 345. Uplands and Castle have a lot of houses of multiple occupation and student accommodation.

Six of 43 areas listed in the council’s response didn’t have any fly-tipped rubbish removed.

The response said 75 fines were issued, 13 of which weren’t paid while eight others were withdrawn. The 75 fines included one for dog fouling – in Mynyddbach – as well as for fly-tipped rubbish. Also included were three fines issued to dog owners whose animals were on beaches with a ban in force.

There were five council prosecutions – three in Penderry, one in Cwmbwrla, and one in Gorseinon and Penyrheol.

Fly-tipping can include a couple of black bags to larger-scale dumping. Another public body which gets involved is environment regulator Natural Resources Wales, which tends to deal with larger-scale offences posing a risk to environmental or human health.

Wales’s 22 local authorities recorded 42,171 fly-tipping incidents in 2023-24, according to data on the website StatsWales, with Swansea recording a figure of 2,485. Dealing with all that rubbish cost councils £1.93 million that year. The cost for Swansea was £118,872.

A breakdown by area of the 2,579 fly-tipping incidents in Swansea:

• Bishopston 6
• Bonymaen 71
• Castle 345
• Clydach 52
• Cockett 42
• Cwmbrla 138
• Fairwood 16
• Gorseinon 2
• Gower 9
• Gowerton 23
• Killay North 1
• Killay South 1
• Landore 123
• Llangyfelach 15
• Llansamlet 69
• Mawr 16
• Mayals 14
• Morriston 139
• Mynyddbach 136
• Penclawdd 2
• Penderry 147
• Penllergaer 18
• Pennard 4
• Penyrheol 1
• Pontarddulais 28
• St Thomas 6
• Sketty 85
• Townhill 345
• Uplands 427
• West Cross 40
• Waterfront 18
• Waunarlwydd 26
• Dunvant & Killay 11
• Pontlliw & Tircoed 9
• Gorseinon & Penryheol 74
• Llwchwr 40
• Mumbles 18

The areas with no fly-tipping recorded:

• Dunvant
• Kingsbridge
• Lower Loughor
• Upper Loughor
• Newton
• Oystermouth