The Welsh minister for environment, energy and rural affairs has outlined how the Welsh government intends to crack down on litter and fly-tipping.
Lesley Griffiths launched her plan, called ‘A Litter and Fly-tipping Free Wales’, on 28 January, calling on everyone to “play their part”.
Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh minister for environment, energy and rural affairs
The consultation on the plan will run until 25 March.
After launching the plan, the minister said: “There are no excuses for littering and fly-tipping. I want to see an end to these antisocial behaviours which are a blight on our streets, beaches and countryside, with the cost of clearing often borne by the public.
“The goals set out within the plan are far-sighted ambitions, and enforcement will play a key role – but enforcement alone isn’t enough to tackle these issues, and we will need everyone to play their part at every level of production, use and disposal to not only reduce litter, but to stop items from becoming litter in the first place”.
Strategies
The Welsh government said a number of strategies are already underway to help drive down the improper and illegal disposal of waste items in Wales, and moving towards “the use of more sustainable produce, including ambitious plans to stop the use of single-use plastics”.
Some of the actions outlined in the new plan include:
- Incentivising businesses to produce more environmentally-friendly packaging
- Introducing a deposit return scheme to help cut down on the littering of drinks containers
- Improving the monitoring and reporting of incidents of fly-tipping, on both private and public land
- Launching a national anti-litter awareness raising campaign
- Reviewing current enforcement arrangements for litter and fly-tipping, potentially increasing penalties if needed, including exploring how Wales could introduce legislation to crack down on littering from moving vehicles
Prevention
The plan was backed by both Fly-tipping Action Wales and Keep Wales Tidy.
“We welcome the launch of this important Welsh Government consultation”
Lesley Jones, chief executive of Keep Wales Tidy, said: “Litter and fly-tipping have significant and far-reaching social, environmental, and economic impacts on communities. We strongly believe that a prevention-based approach is needed if we are to effectively tackle these issues and welcome the launch of this important Welsh government consultation.
“It is an exciting development that we hope will lead to bold policy decisions and joint working across sectors to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. We will be playing our part with Caru Cymru – an ambitious new partnership project with local authorities and Welsh government, aimed at encouraging communities to take action to eliminate litter from our landscape.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
