Madam,

In the Cambrian News, Ceredigion council’s strategic director for care protection Sue Darnbrook was quoted as saying, in an article about rubbish and fly-tipping in the county: “People have to take responsibility for their own areas”.

We are lucky enough to live just outside New Quay. My wife and I regularly take part in collecting rubbish from the beaches at Traethgwyn and Cei Bach, both organised and on our own.

Over the last five years we have, at the request of the River Authority, cleared all the rubbish and blockages out of the River Llethi between the bridge at Llanina and Gilfachreda. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this would be tons of rubbish, from an old typewriter to tyres to farm waste.

We regularly clear the roadside verges and the drain covers in the vicinity of our home.

So, as you can see, we take our responsibilities seriously. So the question is, does the council? With all this media hype about Wales aiming to have the highest recycling rates in the world and the latest fad to be a ‘plastic-free’ village or town, what is the council actually doing to help?

They are bringing in three-weekly bin collections. With a number of holiday cottages in the New Quay area, with families on holiday changing over every week, you can just imagine the mess that will be caused with rubbish bags being left out for weeks at an end.

The council has a policy not to prosecute fly-tippers or people dropping litter, relying instead on ‘education’. In all the years we have lived in the county I have never seen any information put out by the council to ‘educate’ me. It’s an excuse to save money by not tracing and prosecuting offenders.

Then there’s the council ‘thinking’ about closing the tip at Beulah. This would be a disgrace – or, once I’ve completed my regular trawl of the river or collected bags of rubbish from the roadside, am I expected to regularly drive as far as Cardigan to dispose of the rubbish I’ve collected?

The other two options are to wait three weeks for the next collection and hope they take everything I’ve picked up (which is unlikely) or just give up and leave it in situ?

If I was a betting man I would put money on the fact that the decision has already been made and the tip will be closed within the year.

So, Sue Darnbrook, before you put the blame for all this litter on the residents of Ceredigion, just ask yourself, what is the council actually doing to help? Perhaps the council should give up and depend on volunteers to do everything.

Yours etc,

Nick Barnes, Llanina, New Quay.

Have your say on the local issues affecting you - email [email protected] or join in the conversation on our Facebook page