A Newtown resident has been fined £400 for illegally depositing bags of rubbish in the cardboard recycling bank at the local community recycling site in Back Lane Carpark, located in Newtown town centre.

During their routine patrols in the area, the waste awareness and enforcement officers from the council discovered five black bags filled with household waste that had been dumped into the cardboard recycling bank.

Upon further investigation, a delivery receipt from a local takeaway was found among the waste, linking it to a specific residence.

Based on this evidence, a suspect was identified and subsequently interviewed under caution. The individual admitted to fly-tipping their rubbish at the community recycling site. They were given the option to settle the matter out of court by paying a £400 Fixed Penalty Notice for fly tipping, as stipulated under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Cllr Jackie Charlton, the Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys expressed her dismay at the situation, stating, "We are appalled by the types of rubbish we are discovering in some of our community recycling sites. Certain residents show a complete lack of respect by lazily choosing to dispose of their waste improperly in these recycling facilities."

Charlton further explained the consequences of such behavior, saying, "This anti-social behavior not only forces our hardworking staff to manually sift through the banks, but it also often results in the rejection of correctly recycled materials by the processing centers due to contamination. The selfish actions of a few irresponsible individuals result in a significant waste of time and effort for everyone else."

She emphasized that the council adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards fly-tipping, and all incidents are thoroughly investigated by the enforcement team, with fines being issued to those responsible. Members of the public are encouraged to report any instances of contamination they witness or find at the community recycling sites.

These reports, combined with the presence of CCTV in many locations and regular inspections by waste awareness and enforcement officers, will aid in apprehending and appropriately punishing offenders. Individuals found guilty of deliberately disposing of rubbish in the recycling banks can expect to receive a Fixed Penalty Notice.