A Rhondda man taken on to get rid of construction waste has been given a 12-month community order after it was found dumped in two large piles on the access road to Unity Mine in Cwmgwrach.
Shane Richards, of Maerdy Road, Ferndale, must also pay Neath Port Talbot Council £1,016.97 in costs and the Crown Prosecution Service £85, more than £1,100 in all.
Plasterboard and plaster left on the Unity Mine road
The dumping was reported to the council in November 2024. Its investigating officer found two large piles of waste, mainly plasterboard and plaster, the council says.
The investigation led officers to an address in Treherbert, where it was confirmed that Richards had been used as a subcontractor to take the waste away.
A check of Natural Resources Wales waste exemption records confirmed the land did not have the permit needed for waste to be deposited there.
Interviews ignored, then nearly two years until Merthyr sentencing
Richards was invited to several interviews in February 2025 but did not attend or respond, according to the council.
He appeared at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 October to be sentenced for the fly-tipping offence, along with several unrelated shoplifting offences.
His 12-month community order comes with 12 months of supervision and a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
Scott Jones: fly-tipping is ‘a serious environmental crime’
Cllr Scott Jones, the council’s cabinet member for streetscene, called fly-tipping “a serious environmental crime that damages our communities, harms the local environment and places an unnecessary burden on public resources”.
He said Neath Port Talbot was “a beautiful county with vast areas of countryside”, and that the council’s Waste Enforcement Team “works tirelessly to investigate incidents such as this and to hold those responsible to account”.
He thanked residents who report fly-tipping and urged anyone who sees it happen to keep passing on information so the council can act.
Paying someone to take your rubbish? Check their waste carrier licence
The council is urging residents and businesses to hand their waste only to authorised carriers. Anyone can check a waste carrier’s licence on the Natural Resources Wales register.
Last week a Swansea firm boss was ordered to pay almost £3,000 after business waste his company had collected, using a subcontractor, was dumped in three piles on Baran Road above Pontardawe.
Neath Port Talbot recorded 884 fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25, up 40% on the year before, according to Welsh Government figures.
The Welsh Government’s consultation on raising the maximum on-the-spot fine for fly-tipping from £400 to £5,000 closes on Wednesday.
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