Working in partnership to end fly-tipping in Barracksfield, Newport

The Barracksfield area has become a magnet for fly-tipping in recent times. Not only has this blighted the local community and had an impact on residents, but it has also had a detrimental impact on the local wildlife. At Melin sustainability and protecting the natural environment are very important to us, so we wanted to do our bit to return this area to its pristine natural state.

Embarking on this clean up would have been impossible without one immense contribution from Morris’ of Usk Garden Centre and Morris’ Ground Maintenance Teams. They committed a 6-man team and their heavy-duty John Deer machinery for the duration of the clear out. This saw workers and machinery undertake a mammoth cleansing of the culvert running through the Barracksfiled estate, which was full of bulk waste including sofas, tables, tyres, fridges and household refuse.

The team arrived on site with a positive attitude and threw themselves into all the difficult tasks throughout the whole day. Their work ethic was phenomenal. We were also assisted by Robert Price building merchants in Cwmbran who donated and delivered 20 tonne bags for us to fill.

The clean-up was overseen by Lucy Arnold–Matthews, Biodiversity & Education Officer at Newport City Council. Lucy is also the local nature partnership co-ordinator and her presence helped to ensure that the local habitat was protected throughout the clean-up. Lucy was on site with the teams from early morning until late afternoon and we really appreciate her help and guidance in ensuring we protected the natural habitat.

Five trailer loads and 16 full tonne bags of fly tipping waste were removed from the site and taken to GD Environmental Waste Services for safe disposal. This is just the beginning of the clean-up project for the area. We are very excited about supporting the local volunteering group ‘The Tumps’ going forward as they look to continue the clean-up in the area.

In addition to this, we have undertaken engagement events with our residents in the area to make them aware how serious this issue has become. We want to work with residents to help identify those people responsible for the unsightly mess, including recording possible registration numbers of vehicles visiting late at night and discarding their rubbish. This way, we will stop the area from being a magnet for future fly-tipping.

We would like to thank everyone for their contributions on such a positive day and we look forward to continuing to work with the local community to keep Barracksfield waste free and to help Newport City Council with its zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping.