Litter

I don't know about anyone else, but it's the one thing that I really can't stand about Cardiff. And it seems to be worse of late, although obviously major events don't help. It just seems to be absolutely everywhere.

Is it just me? Is Cardiff really so much worse than everywhere else I visit, or do I just judge it more harshly?

Do we blame filthy residents, a lax council, public sector cuts, seagulls, all of the above?

Does it really have an impact on the city's appeal for visitors, investors? Or is it just a thing that locals notice?

And what can be done?

Discuss!

I don't think Cardiff is particularly bad for litter. There is a lot of it, but no more than is expected of a British city. I do agree that a big clean up operation is needed though. Maybe even a good scrubbing of the buildings on St Mary Street and Queen Street. There is some really nice architecture that is let down by decades of dirt. The Hayes is a good example of how merely cleaning up some old buildings can really brighten the area up.

In terms of the city centre I honestly don't think it's any worse than other places - apart from after major events. Even on those occasions the clean-up is pretty rapid. The parks tend to be pretty immaculate as well.

There does seem to be a problem with fly-tipping in some of the inner suburbs like Grangetown and Adamsdown but I suspect this is a long-standing problem that's been made more visible because the back gullies are now largely gated.

Litter is entirely caused by disgusting people. I wish there was some way of making them suffer for causing it.

I have noticed a bit more of a grimy feel starting to build up in certain parts of town again; the refurbishment they gave St Mary Street and High street a few yeas ago has definitely started to fade, for example. Despite that, considering the large levels of footfall and the rowdy weekend crowds town receives, I think they do a great job at keeping the city centre at a very acceptable level of cleanliness, litter wise.

What I did find shocking however, was a few months ago was when I took a river cruise with family from Bute Park to the Pierhead, and seeing the amount of garbage that was floating around in the water. We're talking large islands of rubbish. It was actually embarrassing considering the numbers of tourists the boat cruises attract, and potentially one of the first activities many first time visitors do. It was all the more jarring because of how clean places like The Pierhead and Bute Park are.

A lot of the litter i notice comes from poor management of it, either bins overflowing on busy days or flimsy bags left at the mercy of seagulls. When was the last time you saw someone purposefully throw large items like bottles or crisp packets on the floor, most likely they have been blown into the rivers or are piled up around the bins, people do try but are thwarted by small bins. As for businesses in areas such as Mill Lane which leave large rubbish bags out on the street, they should have dedicated areas for storage that have no access for seagulls, nearly every night there is blue roll and chicken bones along mill lane.

A lot of the litter i notice comes from poor management of it, either bins overflowing on busy days or flimsy bags left at the mercy of seagulls. When was the last time you saw someone purposefully throw large items like bottles or crisp packets on the floor, most likely they have been blown into the rivers or are piled up around the bins, people do try but are thwarted by small bins. As for businesses in areas such as Mill Lane which leave large rubbish bags out on the street, they should have dedicated areas for storage that have no access for seagulls, nearly every night there is blue roll and chicken bones along mill lane.

I agree lack of bins or bin size and pesky seagulls make things a lot worse, but unfortunately their are still plenty of moronic litter louts out there. Recently I was involved in an incident... I saw someone had dumped his takeaway wrapping out of his car at the lights in Clare Rd, seeing red I approached the car and tapped the window. Then some WWF Wrestler type gets out of the car!! oh dear me thinks - he looked so much smaller when sat inside!! Still he had his say on the matter and indeed his opinion of me, which wasn't particularly favourable if I'm honest!! PHEW! then the lights changed and he squeezed back into his car and sped of!! the funny thing was he chucked the rubbish back in the vehicle!! Let that be a lesson to you I whispered - somewhat shaken.
I'm going to perhaps not do any more window tapping in the future, as that incident could've been pretty nasty and affected my future travel plans ie walking! - but perhaps more of this kind of shaming of litter louts may actually be one of the routes to cleaning things up?

I don't think there is a problem with litter louts in Cardiff to any great extent but I do think there is a problem with litter. We've all been down Caroline St when it's awash with chip wrappers and cartons. Most of that is due to inadequate bins rather than collective alcohol induced nihilism. Why not put a very large container at both ends of the street ready to be picked up by the council? I think there is a problem with the dirty bastards that spit chewing gum on the floor though. The Friary is an absolute mess. Every couple of months it gets jet washed and literally within days it's covered in little grey blobs again. Do people not consider chewing gum litter? If fags and beer are heavily taxed, in part to counteract the societal harm they cause, why not chewing gum which must cost councils around the country millions of pounds a year.

I agree with the comment about St Mary St above. The streetscape has deteriorated really badly, really quickly. Quite a lot of the paving has broken up, bollards have been knocked down and there is serious staining around the bins. The choice of paving here has been a mistake and has been poorly laid in many places. The type of businesses there mean that the street will see a lot more litter and dirt than The Hayes for example but the state of some of the buildings, the erratic cleaning regime and the dirty paving doesn't engender a sense of respect of your surroundings.

My opinion is Cardiff is very much worse for litter than Reading and the areas of London I have also lived in.
The frustrating thing is Cardiff (again in my opinion) is so much more naturally attractive that those places, so the litter really stands out as a disappointment.
A lot around the outskirts such as rover way, seems to be caused by regular fly tipping and people having no respect for the area they live in or travel through. I think the city center does quite a good job after an event day, but there is still room for improvement.
People caught intentionally littering should have the choice of 2 full days of litter picking, or a £500 fine.

Generally I don't think it is too bad, but certain areas it is noticable - student areas in Cathays, the main streets in the city centre - a lot caused by restaurants and shops putting out their rubbish after closing only for them to be ripped apart by seagulls the moment they are put down.

I wouldn't say it is much worse than other cities I have visitied in the UK though.