An old sofa, bed frame, mattress, and numerous bin bags form a large pile of fly-tipped waste outside a boarded-up house in Ely, Cardiff. Social media footage highlights the mess on Wilson Road, where residents report the rubbish has accumulated for some time.

Council Issues Removal Notice

Cardiff city councillor Neil McEvoy described the situation as “unacceptable.” Cardiff Council confirms the property sits on private land. On February 16, officials served a notice to the landlord, requiring removal of the waste within 14 days.

Efforts to reach the landlord for comment have yielded no response. A council spokesperson stated that failure to comply will prompt legal enforcement action, with the authority clearing the site and recovering costs from the landowner.

Rising Fly-Tipping Across Cardiff and Wales

Cardiff recorded nearly 5,600 fly-tipping incidents over the past year, damaging the environment and burdening taxpayers. New data reveals 48,367 cases across Wales in the year ending March 2025—the highest in 17 years. Household waste accounted for about 71% of reports.

Sharp increases occurred in Denbighshire (due to improved data capture), Vale of Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil, and Caerphilly. Enforcement actions rose to 27,749, a 9% jump from the prior year.

Government Steps Up Fight Against Waste Dumping

Authorities are reviewing fixed penalty notice limits for fly-tipping and household waste duty of care violations. Funding supports Fly-tipping Action Wales with 150 cameras to monitor hotspots and aid cleanups. Additional grants target enforcement and camera projects in Denbighshire, Flintshire, Neath Port Talbot, and Pembrokeshire councils.

Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister responsible for climate change, emphasized: “There is never any excuse for fly tipping. It blights our streets, countryside and communities, and people the length and breadth of the country are rightly angry about it. We are determined to clean up our communities and these new cameras will help us do just that.”