The person responsible for a vehicle used to dump waste from house renovation work at two separate locations in Briton Ferry on the same day, has been ordered to pay £1,516 costs, a £114 Victim Surcharge and to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Richard Darren Barwell, 55, of Llanelli, pleaded guilty at Swansea Magistrates’ Court on October 30th, 2025 to two offences under Section 33(5) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Under section 33(5) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a person is liable if controlled waste is deposited from a vehicle they control regardless of whether or not they gave permission for the waste to be deposited.’
The first incident, on August 10th, 2024, involved the dumping of several internal doors, a cream bath, a bathroom sink with a seashell-like pattern, a large amount of timber, carpet underlay, carpet, lino and bags of building rubble in a lane connecting Gower Street with Tucker Street, Briton Ferry.
The second incident, on the same day, happened at Wharf Road, Briton Ferry and consisted of five builders’ bags containing old loft insulation, bags of rubble and old rendering, a broken cream toilet and cistern lid matching the same colour and seashell-like pattern as the bath and sink in the first incident, a lawn mower, green carpet underlay, kitchen lino and a Carmarthenshire County Council blue plastic recycling bag.
Mr Barwell initially denied being involved in the illegal deposit of waste but Neath Port Talbot Council Waste Enforcement Officers managed to track down photographic evidence, from a number of sources, of a black Ford tipper van, which they discovered Mr Barwell was insured to drive, containing waste of a similar nature in the locations where the dumping took place.
During the investigation, the Ford tipper van used was seized by the council and as no one made claim to it, the vehicle was crushed as it was deemed unfit to be on the road.
Cllr Scott Jones, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene, said: “This kind of fly-tipping is a serious environmental crime and can be very distressing for the communities where waste is unlawfully deposited.
“I want to praise our Waste Enforcement Officers who worked hard to bring about this prosecution and it sends out the message that those fly-tip and in so doing damage our communities will be brought before the courts.”
