Returning Your Deposits

(Pic : buzzfeed.com)

Yesterday, the Conservatives held a debate on something that blights all communities, and likely to be a perennial issue on the doorstep : littering, fly-tipping, graffiti and dog shit.

The motion put forward called for the Welsh Government to work with local authorities towards increasing the penalties for "environmental crime", as well as introducing innovative solutions to encourage recycling (see also : Womble Nation).

Shadow Environment Minister, Janet Howarth (Con, North Wales), described it as an issue which can make a real difference to quality of life (clip). These are crimes where the police won't get involved, but for which civil enforcement officers can levy on-the-spot fines. The Welsh Government noted in May 2013 that increases in environmental crime had a negative impact on inward investment and tourism. Around £70million is spent cleaning up environmental crime with an inconsistency across local authorities - although they have new powers via the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014.

Dog fouling is one of the most serious issues – it's not just unpleasant but a health risk to children. According to an FOI request, councils received ~330 complaints on average in 2014, but Caerphilly saw over a 1,000 compared to just 81 in Monmouthshire. Conwy and Denbighshire employ private contractors to enforce dog fouling fines, and collected over £100,000 each; Flintshire had own in-house team which collected a fraction of that amount.

Janet condemned litter and fly-tipping too, with smoking-related litter found on 86% of streets. The presence of graffiti stimulates anti-social behaviour, and she cited the use of symbols by criminals.

She noted that despite good all-Wales figures, there were big differences in recycling rates within Wales, with Denbighshire having a 64% recycling rate, compared to Blaenau Gwent's 50.3% over same period. £1.8million in penalties were waived for two Labour-run councils for missing targets.

Janet called for a pilot and feasibility study into deposit return for drinks containers to boost recycling rates; people would pay a deposit when buying drinks containers, and that deposit would be returned at a reverse vending machine. This is similar to a scheme run by the famous, but long defunct, Welsh soft drinks company, Corona.

William Powell AM (Lib Dem, Mid & West Wales) said (clip) the debate fits neatly into green theme of much that's happened this week (ahead of the Paris climate conference). Local recycling centres are closing, and there was a worrying move towards privatisation of waste enforcement. All this was happening in the context of some local authorities moving towards black bag collections every three weeks.

Penalties for fly-tipping need to be increased from average of £50,000 to £75,000, alongside a minimum 12 month sentence, to act as a disincentive and prevent environmental damage. Resource use needs to be minimised in manufacturing, and this can be aided by working with retailers and manufacturers to reduce waste. The Lib Dems support the principle of the deposit scheme, with 20% of waste on Welsh beaches being drinks containers.

Llyr Gruffydd AM (Plaid, North Wales) said that although takeaway-related litter was a big problem, drinks cans and bottles just as big a problem - 75% of waste collected in recent clean up in his area consisted of drinks containers (clip). Far more can be done, with only 50% of plastic bottles being recycled. There's an argument that deposit return schemes increase recycling by adding value to recyclable containers. Germany started deposit return in 2005, recouping drinks containers at rate of 98.5%, and similar rates resulted from a scheme in Ontario, Canada.

Shadow Local Government Minister, Janet Finch-Saunders (Con, Aberconwy), said environmental crimes cause great concern to communities, not only by looking unpleasant but by having a big impact on health and the economy (clip). For example, Welsh beaches have two-and-a-half times the average levels of litter. Janet said there was a need for innovation and enforcement from Welsh and local government. Community protection orders can clamp down on nuisance drinking or any other thing that impacts quality of life, but the Welsh Government haven't undertaken an assessment on the impact of UK legislation in that area.

One person's vandalism is another person's art.
(Pic : Boiler House Graffiti Project)

Julie Morgan AM (Lab, Cardiff North) said it was an important subject that was taken seriously in the Assembly (clip). However, everyone has to accept responsibility as individuals, and the public need to change their behaviour. Julie cited some successes like the single-use carrier bag charge, as well as the Boiler House Project which creates art in place of graffiti in Cardiff. She said preventing food waste was also important, and can be achieved through better redistribution of food. Julie liked the idea of a deposit return scheme, but it's a great deal more complicated now than it was in the Corona days.

Russell George AM (Con, Montgomery) paid tribute to Montgomeryshire volunteers who "play a massive role" in keeping the area clean (clip) . A Keep Wales Tidy group has expanded to 50 members – the highest number outside Cardiff. Before that happened, graffiti, dog fouling and littering were a big problem in some communities. There's a need to encourage a more socially responsible attitude to environment, better enforcement and to reduce disparities between local authorities. Russell was concerned about moves towards three-weekly or monthly black bag collections, believing it wouldn't encourage recycling any more than current levels.

Jocelyn Davies AM (Plaid, South Wales East) said the issue was the one raised most often by the public when AMs meet with them, affecting how people feel about the place they live (clip). Dog fouling in particular is unpleasant and dangerous, but we can't blame the dogs; public attitudes must change, and Jocelyn suggested making it a legal requirement for people to carry bags when with their dogs. She said it was encouraging to see fixed penalty notices increase, as it implies a more pro-active approach.

Jocelyn also mentioned a rise in "lucrative" environmental crime, such as running illegal dumps. There's a particular case in Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent, where dangerous waste like asbestos was dumped illegally by Adrian Lewis, who was subsequently jailed for eight months. She said there was a failure to regulate, having visited one publicly-contracted recycling firm which went bust, leaving massive piles of plastic in Pontypool, which was no longer recyclable and will go to landfill.

Illegal dumps like this one in Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent have made
environmental crime "lucrative" for criminals.
(Pic : South Wales Argus)

Jeff Cuthbert AM (Lab, Caerphilly) said the issue of environmental crime doesn't get attention it deserves compared to violent crime (clip). Encouraging healthier diets, lower smoking rates and responsible dog ownership would lead to less litter, but enforcement will still be necessary. He expressed support for the Tidy Towns scheme, and although he believes fly-tippers should be named and shamed, local authority officers can only do so much and there was a need for partnership with the police.

Paul Davies AM (Con, Preseli Pembs.) said the Pembrokeshire coastline was important to Welsh economy, and it was equally important we do all we can to maintain the environment (clip). Volunteers in his area have encouraged people to think about what environment they want, but clearly more needs to be done on the coasts. There's scope for local groups to work with schools to stress the importance of keeping places clean and to bring together communities. Paul added that there were "serious risks" if winter cleans on beaches aren't maintained.

Alun Davies AM (Lab, Blaenau Gwent) said there was general agreement local environment impact on quality of life, but it also impacts poverty (clip). It affects peoples' view of themselves and their communities. Areas with the most significant environmental crime problems tend to be more deprived, and he bemoaned the compartmentalising of too many issues instead of linking different policy areas together; he suggested the Natural Resources department could work with Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.

Alun would like to see more measurable targets put in place, and would also like to see a reconsideration of powers available to Ministers and Natural Resources Wales so measures can be strengthened on environmental crimes, like the situation in Nantyglo mentioned earlier.

Wales has good, if not excellent, recycling rates; but there are
still serious challenges needing to be addressed that currently aren't.
(Pic : letsrecycle.com)

Natural Resources Minister, Carl Sargeant (Lab, Alyn & Deeside) said a "clean, safe, accessible environment" was key part of the Wales we want for future generations (clip). £22million has been made available for Tidy Towns since 2008 to enable people to make their own places safer and tidier.

His department are taking coordinated action on fly-tipping which "will" deliver results, and there were tools available to councils to issue fixed penalties; he was considering enabling fixed penalties to be issued for smaller scale fly-tipping incidents too. However, responsibility for environmental crime always rests with the criminal/individual, not local authorities as insinuated by the Conservatives.

Wales was the first UK nation to introduce statutory recycling targets and to charge for single-use carrier bags. Wales also has the 4^th best recycling rate in Europe and is already exceeding EU targets for 2020. Carl was "keeping an open mind" on a deposit return scheme and will explore its feasibility.

In reply, Nick Ramsay AM (Con, Monmouth) said there was "a mix of fact and fiction" in the Minister's response (clip). Any attempt to blame the UK Government was "ridiculous" as it was still the responsibility of individuals. He was pleased the Assembly's taken the time to focus on a very real problem affecting communities. On deposit return, good results from other countries doesn't mean they would be replicated here, hence why the Tories were calling for a pilot scheme.

The motion was agreed without amendment by 37 votes to 15.

Let's stop taking a dump on our communities

The debate was interesting, though it threatened to be spoilt by some unnecessary electioneering....but that's to be expected. In the end they all made good points.

As Jocelyn Davies hinted, complaints about environmental crime are likely to dominate the in-boxes of elected representatives from MPs right down to community councillors. None of us like it, but it keeps happening and, as many AMs said, it's down to each of us to change our own behaviour and not simply rely on everyone else changing.

A deposit return scheme for drinks containers sounds like a good idea. The details would need to be worked out of course, but as you can see above, it's quite commonplace in parts of mainland Europe and you could easily see supermarkets accommodating the machines.

I don't have much of a problem with "proper" graffiti either – it's probably the oldest form of visual art. When it's well done it's as good as any painting. It's the pointless tagging that's the real issue - the latest I've seen in my area suggests someone has a bum chin; truly a hard-hitting statement on urban life in 21st Century Wales. I'm no Brian Sewell, but I've never understood what someone would "get" from it to be honest.

I would personally like to see a deposit return scheme for dog shit, but I guess that won't be feasible. In the longer term, if expenses allow, it might be worth creating a DNA database of all newborn puppies (in the same way as compulsory microchipping, which is coming to Wales next year) and using it to issue punitive fines for dog fouling in public places – Flintshire are already considering something like that.

Unfortunately, my own dog had to be put to sleep this summer, and as she was pushing 18 years old you can imagine what her age did to her digestive system. It's not the dog's fault. Needless to say, if someone's too precious to pick up their own dog's shite, they probably shouldn't be allowed to have a dog in the first place.