Why is the city centre such a mess?
The council says the variety of venues in the city centre, all with different hours, means picking a collection time that works for all businesses is tricky.
While shops shut in the evening, restaurants usually close before midnight but there are pubs and clubs which are open until the early hours.
“There’s a different issue in the city centre than there is elsewhere. People are out at a weekend and out until two, three or four o’clock.
“There’s an accumulation of rubbish some of which can’t be put out til the morning.”
Waste staff work in the city centre 24/7 between Monday and Friday, but on Saturday and Sunday they work between 5am and 9pm.
The authority says the safety of their staff is important, and staff are at risk of attacks or bad behaviour if they are on the streets throughout the weekend.
The council accept there is a window between 4am and 7am where litter is not collected on a weekend, and say it’s mainly images of that which are circulating.
The authority accept they have the legal responsibility to move rubbish, but say that businesses also have to take responsibility.
They say all containers have to be thoroughly washed, as even traces of food on a tissue is enough for a seagull to smell food and target a bag.
What has changed?
In the last few weeks the council has taken steps to try and change the amount of time rubbish is on the streets in the city.
It has changed the order of pickups and timing in the city centre and deployed extra teams. Staff take a route of Mill Lane, up towards the castle before returning down St Mary Street. They say that it is when rubbish is out for these collections that it is targeted by gulls.
One of the most obvious hotspots is Burger King on Castle Street.
Here, waste is piled in bags outside waiting for collection. It’s then that the bags are torn open by seagulls. Other takeaways in the city have already worked with the council to draw up plans to stop that happening.
Negotiations are now ongoing with the Burger King store to look at options including a large, sealed bin, or council staff taking the rubbish from inside the premises.
Why can’t they just use wheelie bins instead of the orange bin bags?
The council says it doesn’t have a monopoly on commercial waste services and they are up against private companies.
One problem with bringing in big bins, is that it’s hard to police who is using them – for example, someone not paying for a council contract could use the bins for their rubbish.
The council has recently announced they are looking to provide secure bin storage for commercial contracts. But any bin storage unit in the city needs planning permission, which takes time.
And the seagulls?
They’ve had a bad press recently, but the council says not only are they very intelligent, but because it’s breeding season we’re seeing, and hearing, more of the gulls.
The season is adding to the problems as they forage for food, but when that is over – in about a month’s time – there should be less issues.
Why can’t we have more bins?
There is a fine line between lining the streets and the city’s parks with bins.
While they’re helpful, many people – as the wheelie bin protests showed – don’t like the look of them. In the city centre, security has to be taken into account, bins are an easy place for things, including bombs, to be hidden.
What happens in the future?
The council says it has devised a strategy to deal with not only waste, but the appearance of the city generally and have identified money for it.
That has already begun with work stepping up from September.
That will include a “Blitz” - which will see teams go round different neighbourhoods for a week at a time, tackling everything from rubbish to blocked gullies and road problems.
They will also target known “hotspots” at separate times.
Mr Gregory said: “The council has a leadership role in getting this right, in terms of neighbourhoods, we have got the prime responsibility.
“We have got to accept we are part of the story in improving Cardiff, but it’s not just the council.”
Why does rubbish get left on my street?
The council says that if rubbish is put out incorrectly, the bags will be targeted by wildlife so the easy way to stop it is for residents to look carefully on the side of their green bags for what should go in them.
Food has to go in caddies and packaging needs washing.
When that waste is spread on the street after wildlife tackle bags, that’s when their enforcement teams come in. That can be avoided if residents put the correct waste in the correct bins.
There are various ways it can be stopped, according to Coun Derbyshire.
If residents see their neighbours putting waste out wrongly, they can report it via C2C. Or bin staff can report it to the enforcement team who can investigate.
“They will go there, pick up the rubbish and look for evidence and try to establish who is responsible for it.”
Are people being fined?
Yes - the council says their second enforcement team has only been operating for six weeks but has already handed out 78 fixed penalty notices.
Why are the parks a mess?
When it comes to having bins in parks, the council says it is a “balancing” act.
It sees that on busy weekends, people leave their rubbish. And, if the bin is full, they will leave rubbish next to it.
“I get asked all the time for more bins and all we can do is our best to provide them but the council isn’t there to necessarily provide a bin on every street corner. People have a responsibility. The actions of these people are costing you.”
What are businesses doing?
The council says it hopes that now the Business Improvement District has been agreed on, it will help. Businesses will all pay to be part of that, and will select their priorities. They are confident one of those will be tackling waste.
But they say they are not shirking responsibility – businesses benefit from a lot of things that happen in the city, including huge events, so it’s fair they help deal with the aftermath.
Coun Derbyshire said: “Cardiff has worked hard for a number of years to get events into the city centre which have been very beneficial to the city.
“Events like the rugby, the RHS show, they come with a cost to the council because these events generate a lot of extra waste which we have to deal with.”
What can residents do?
In short - sort your rubbish properly, wash all containers and if you’re out and about, don’t litter.
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/man-filmed-shocking-video-daughter-11702374
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