Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A Llanelli nightclub owner has been prosecuted in court for failing to have the proper arrangements in place for the disposal of his waste. Matthew Alexander Williams, aged 25, of Pant Bryn lsaf, Llwynhendy, appeared before Carmarthen Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to two offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement section received a complaint of rubbish escaping from bins to the rear of Mayhem Nightclub in Stepney Street and causing a litter problem. On January 9 this year officers attended the scene and saw that the waste bin had been overfilled, the lid was left open and rubbish bags had been left on the ground next to the bin. There were also glass bottles and empty beer cans loose on the ground. Enquiries revealed that the landlord of the property had leased the premise to Williams who was trading under the name of Mayhem Nightclub. The officers arranged to meet Williams at the nightclub and he confirme...

A Llandovery business has been fined £100 for failing to have proper arrangements in place for the disposal of its waste. The owner was issued with a fixed penalty notice by council environmental enforcement officers. All businesses must have an agreement in place with a fully licensed waste company to make sure that any waste produced during the course of their business, is stored, transported and disposed of without harming the environment; known as their ‘Duty of Care.’ Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “The business in question was given 21 days to resolve the issue; however it failed to do so and was fined as a result. “The majority of businesses in Carmarthenshire are compliant with the legislation but we will not hesitate to take action against those who are not.” For further information visit the council website or call Carmarthenshire Direct on 01267 234567.

A Llanelli businessman has been prosecuted by the council for failing to dispose of his waste correctly. Allan Jeffrey Lewis, aged 67, of AJL Displays in Station Road, pleaded not guilty at Llanelli Magistrates Court to an offence of failing to provide waste transfer notices to authorised officers within seven days. The court heard that council environmental enforcement officers visited the premises in October 2010 and issued a section 47 notice requiring Lewis to dispose of commercial waste generated by his business in the correct manner by using an authorised waste collector. Officers attended the premises again in August 2011 and requested that Lewis produce within seven days details of what arrangements had been put in place to dispose of his trade waste. Lewis failed to produce any documentation within the specified time and was issued with a fixed penalty notice. However, Lewis then failed to pay it. He was found guilty by magistrates and sentenced to a six month conditional disc...

A Neath man has been prosecuted by Carmarthenshire County Council for illegally carrying scrap metal. Percy McAllister, aged 21, of Wharf Road Caravan Site, Briton Ferry Industrial Estate, Neath, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Carmarthen Magistrates Court. The court heard that police and council environmental enforcement officers stopped a Ford Transit Van carrying an exercise bike and metal shavings in Cross Hands as part of a multi-agency operation targeting scrap metal dealers. The officers spoke to the driver and asked if he was registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier. He provided details of his brother’s permit number, who was the passenger in the vehicle. He was then asked if he had any waste transfer notes for the scrap on the rear of the vehicle. He replied that he did not. McAllister was cautioned and told that the matter would be referred to the council’s legal department for consideration of ...

A Carmarthen man has been given an eight month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £80 towards court costs for illegally carrying scrap metal. Christopher Ross Thomas, aged 19, of Gwyfre Gardens, Abergwili, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to section 34(6)of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Carmarthen Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that Thomas was stopped by police on Friday, October 7 last year at Dolgwili Road, Glangwili, in a white Iveco tipper lorry which was carrying a consignment of scrap metals. Thomas produced a valid certificate of registration from the Environment Agency to show he was registered as a waste carrier. However, when asked to provide waste transfer notes in respect of the consignment of scrap metals on his lorry, he was unable to do so. He was told he would be reported to the council’s environmental enforcement section for the offence. The court said the level of punishment...

A Whitland man has been prosecuted by the courts for a waste offence. Silas James Lee, aged 35, of Westover Caravan Site, pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that Lee had failed to ensure he had a written description of the waste he was carrying and had failed to produce waste transfer notes as required by law to the council’s environmental enforcement officers. He had also provided transfer notes with false or incomplete information. In mitigation, the court was told that Lee could not read or write and this was part of the reason why he had failed to comply with the law, and why he had given misleading information to the officers. The magistrates were also told Lee was not now working and was in receipt of incapacity benefit. As a result he was fined £200 and ordered to pay £250 towards prosecution costs. The council hopes t...

Residents in Carmarthenshire are being warned not to put their household waste in litter bins. Council staff have reported that some litter bins are being used by residents to dispose of household or garden waste. This means the bins are filling up sooner than if they were used for general litter. Problems have been reported in Reservoir Road in Carmarthen and at Dafen pond in Llanelli in particular where litter bins are overflowing with household waste. Some residents are also dumping bags of rubbish next to the bins. Now residents are being warned that they could be prosecuted for a fly-tipping offence under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 where the maximum fine is £2,500. Environmental enforcement officers regularly carry out patrols across the county. Executive Board Member for the Environment Cllr Philip Hughes said: “It is very disappointing that people are misusing the litter bins in this way as it is causing them to fill up too fast and then they can’t be used for litter...

Householders are being reminded that black/blue bags will not be collected from wheelie bins. Residents are being urged to remove the bags from the wheeled containers before putting out for collection at the kerbside. The council’s refuse/recycling crews are unable to collect from wheeled containers for health and safety reasons as there is an increased risk of injury due to the repetitive way in which staff would have to bend to collect the bags of unknown weight. The bins are designed for mechanical emptying and not manual. The council was able to collect from wheelie bins in previous years as the refuse Lorries used had a mechanical lift on the rear. However, these Lorries had to be phased out as the green bin/blue bag recycling scheme was introduced. The council continues to collect from ordinary dustbins, as long as the waste is bagged. If the waste was loose it would mean staff would have to physically lift the bin over the height of the lorry well and whilst this may not seem to...

Residents in Carmarthenshire are being urged not to put general waste in the recycling section of the council’s street litter recycling bins. The bins have two separate sections – one for general litter and the other for paper, cans and plastic bottles making it easier for recycling. There is also an ashtray on top as well as chewing gum disposal. The bins have been installed in towns across the county as well as in the National Botanic Garden of Wales and will help to increase the county’s recycling rate and reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill. However, staff emptying the bins said the recycling section is contaminated with general litter, including food waste. Now residents are being reminded to please use the correct sections. Executive Board Member for the Environment Cllr Philip Hughes said: “We must do our best to recycle as much of our waste as possible so it is vital people co-operate by making sure they put their recyclable litter in the right section. “If these bin...

New figures show Carmarthenshire has again reduced the amount of waste it is sending to landfill. During 2010/11 the county sent 20,603 tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) to landfill – that’s just 61% of its 33,919 tonnes allowance. The figures have been revealed in the Landfill Allowances Scheme for Wales annual report, published by the Environment Agency Wales. The Landfill Allowances Scheme (LAS) limits the amount of biodegradable municipal waste - such as paper, cardboard and kitchen scraps - that councils are allowed to send to landfill. And if council exceed these limits, it can lead to fines. Reducing the amount of waste going to landfill also helps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as methane produced by the breakdown of BMW in a landfill can be up to 25 times worse than carbon dioxide. The aim is to encourage the reduction, recycling, composting and treatment of this type of waste. Carmarthenshire was one of eight local authorities in Wales to be singled out for usin...

A Gwendraeth Valley woman has been fined by the courts for leaving glass bottles at the side of the recycling banks in Cross Hands. Shane Sander, aged 52, of Clos y Cwm, Penygroes, pleaded guilty to an offence of littering at Llanelli Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement officers were on duty at the bring site at Cross Hands Co-op when they saw a woman get out of her vehicle with two carrier bags of glass bottles. They saw the woman put two glass bottles in the glass recycling bank, then place the two carrier bags on the floor at the side of the bin, walk away and get into her car. She was about to drive away when the officers approached the vehicle and explained that an offence had been witnessed. The woman got out of the car and proceeded to put all the bottles in the bank. The officers asked her why she had made an attempt to put bottles in the recycling bin and then walk a...

A man has been prosecuted by Carmarthenshire County Council for failing to fill in the appropriate documentation for the waste he was carrying. Harry John Jones, aged 49, of Gwelfor, Fishguard, pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court. The court heard that Jones was stopped by police and the council’s environmental enforcement officers in a white Mercedes Atego lorry on the A48 near Nantycaws as part of a joint operation targeting scrap metal thefts in Carmarthenshire. The vehicle was carrying a large consignment of scrap metals. Jones told the officers that he was a registered waste carrier but that he had not completed waste transfer notes for the scrap metal. He was cautioned and told that the facts of the case would be reported for the consideration of prosecuting him for the offence. Jones was fined £350 by magistrates and ordered to pay £100 towards prosecution costs. The council now hopes this cas...

A man has been prosecuted for failing to fill in the appropriate documentation for the waste he was carrying. Nelson David Price, aged 48, of Golden Lane, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that Price was stopped by police and the council’s environmental enforcement officers in a Ford Transit pick-up truck in Cefneithin as part of a joint operation targeting scrap metal dealers in Carmarthenshire. The vehicle was carrying two metal gates and a number of metal girders. Enquiries revealed Price was a registered waste carrier but when asked if he had waste transfer notes, he said he didn’t know he needed them. The council officer explained that when he received his registration certificate from the Environment Agency, he would have received instructions regarding the requirement to complete waste transfer notes. As he ...

A man has been fined £350 and ordered to pay £110 court costs for illegally carrying scrap metal in Carmarthenshire. Mathew George Jones, aged 27, of Sageston Grange, Sageston, Pembrokeshire, was convicted in absence for an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 at Ammanford Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that Jones was driving a HGV carrying two scrapped vehicles and was stopped by police on the A48 near Nantycaws, Carmarthen. He told police he was the owner of the HGV and when questioned about the ownership of the scrap vehicles on the back of the lorry, he first maintained that they were his, but after further questioning admitted that they were old vehicles. When the officer asked to see Jones’s waste carriers licence, he said that he was in the process of applying for it. When asked if he had a licence, he said no. The information was passed on to Carmarthenshire County Counc...

A man has been prosecuted for failing to fill in the appropriate documentation for the waste he was carrying. Jamie Lee Smith, aged 22, of Amphion Court, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, pleaded guilty by post to an offence under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that Smith was driving a Ford Transit pick-up truck which was carrying a consignment of scrap metals when he was stopped by police at Pendine Hill in Pendine. On questioning, the officer established that no waste transfer notes had been completed in respect of the scrap metals on his vehicle. The matter was referred to the council’s environmental enforcement section for prosecution. Smith was fined £250 by magistrates and ordered to pay £100 towards prosecution costs. The council now hopes this case will act as a warning to others and help prevent the illegal transport of waste which often results in fl...

A Neath man has appeared before Ammanford Magistrates Court for illegally carrying scrap metal. Peter Mark Roberts, aged 38, of Giants Wharf Caravan Site, Briton Ferry, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Control of Pollution (Amendment Act) 1989. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that Roberts was stopped by police In Llansteffan Road, Johnstown, Carmarthen, on December 31 last year. He was driving a Ford Transit and was carrying scrap metal items including an old cooker, car batteries and an old galvanised gate. The police officers established that Roberts did not have a valid waste carriers licence from the Environment Agency to allow him to transport controlled waste and he had not completed waste transfer notes for the consignment of waste as required by law. Roberts told the court that although he did not have a licence at the time he had now obtained one. He said that he did not know that he needed one as his busi...

Residents in Carmarthenshire are being reminded that their waste collections will take place as normal over the forthcoming bank holidays. Refuse/recycling crews will be working as usual on Good Friday, Easter Monday, the Royal Wedding and May Day. Householders are being encouraged to cut down on all that 'eggstra' rubbish this Easter by reducing, reusing and recycling wherever possible. Suggestions for reducing your waste include making your own chocolate goodies and Easter cakes instead of shop bought Easter eggs, decorating your own cards with foil from any leftover packaging or even sending your Easter greetings by email. And if you can’t resist a shop bought egg, don’t forget to reuse and recycle the packaging wherever possible. Council sustainability officer Tina Brice said: “We are appealing to residents to recycle the cardboard packaging and the moulded plastic shell from their eggs in their blue bags or by using local recycling facilities. Clean card packaging can be r...

Traders in Carmarthenshire are being urged to make sure they have the proper arrangements in place for the disposal of their waste. All businesses have a responsibility to make sure that any waste produced during the course of their business, is stored, transported and disposed of without harming the environment. This is known as their duty of care. It includes all types of controlled waste including household, commercial and industrial waste – from waste paper and empty ink cartridges to scrap metal and old window frames from building sites. Failure to comply could lead to prosecution in the magistrates court and a hefty fine of up to £5,000 or more if at crown court. Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “Businesses have a responsibility to ensure reasonable measures are taken to dispose of their waste. The majority of businesses in Carmarthenshire are fully aware and compliant but it is important that we remind people of the legislation. “Duty of Care is one of the ma...