Plea to 'take your rubbish home' as Cardiff parks buried in litter

Wales Online readers are horrified to hear that Cardiff’s parks were inundated with litter on Monday after thousands of people headed outside to enjoy record-breaking bank holiday temperatures across Wales. Bins in several of the city’s most popular green spaces struggled to cope with the huge influx of visitors, as families, groups of friends and day-trippers packed parks during the hottest day of the year so far. Victoria Park in Canton was among the busiest locations, with hundreds of families flocking to the popular splashpad to cool off as temperatures soared. Children played in the fountains while parents spread picnic blankets, umbrellas, towels and bags across nearby grassy areas for a full day in the sunshine. By late afternoon, bins around the park were overflowing with takeaway packaging, drink bottles, carrier bags, cans and leftover food. Similar scenes were reported in other Cardiff parks, including Bute Park, according to Wales Online. The Met Office said Monday became the hottest May day ever recorded in Wales after temperatures reached 32.2C at Hawarden Airport, surpassing the previous record of 30.6C set in Newport in 1944. Cardiff had already recorded temperatures of 27.5C on Sunday, while overnight conditions remained unusually warm heading into the bank holiday. As the heat intensified, growing visitor numbers placed increasing pressure on facilities across the Welsh capital’s parks. By evening, overflowing bins were a common sight, with rubbish piling up around benches, pathways and grassy spaces. Commenter Lisa H says: “Well the fact the rubbish made it to the bins is a really good step forward I would say. Now the council needs to do their bit!” Tom D agrees: “At least people are using the bins, now the bins are overflowing people are saying, take it home. Why can’t the council install bigger bins or have more bins dotted about?” Sue P adds: “In tourist resorts in Playa,Blanca, Lanzarote, the authorities empty the bins during the day, and in addition to a black bag in the bin, they tie one to the outside for overflowing rubbish. They could do this in Cardiff, but there again, people could take their rubbish home.” Jeffwales68 thinks: “It's a similar argument with fly tipping and dog mess, if the council responsible either charges too much or doesn't keep up with demand and clean up, people will just dump rubbish. As many have said, why don't people just take it home and dispose of their mess sensibly? But the mindset is, well if we've paid our taxes it's someone else's responsibility.” Alan A suggests: “Here's an idea. Just don't generate so much waste in the first place. The solution isn't always more bins, bigger bins, or more collections.” Lauren D writes: “The weather is irrelevant. The bins have been left like this for months because of cuts to collection services. An embarrassing failure from the council.” Rob C thinks: “Then the council should have arranged extra bin crew shifts to make sure the bins were still emptied on time. They knew the disruption was coming, yet residents are still being left with overflowing rubbish piling up in the streets.” Amanda P agrees: “At least people are trying to dispose of their rubbish responsibly. The council knows the parks will be packed in warm weather, so why not send a quad and trailer round for extra collections? Roath Park probably doesn’t need the extra collections, but Victoria Park clearly does. Sunshine, the splash park, families, picnics and crowds all mean more rubbish. It’s hardly difficult to work out.” Chris C adds: “Go to France and you rarely see rubbish left like this. The council should take a leaf out of their book and have dedicated clean up teams working around the city every day. Takeaways should also be made responsible for clearing up the mess outside their premises, and bins in busy areas should be emptied every night.” Diane H wonders: “Would it help during busy periods if people brought bin bags with them for their rubbish, so if the bins were already full they could still bag it up properly instead of leaving it lying around? The bigger question is whether the council would actually collect the extra bags when they do the bin rounds.” Renata P says: “More collections are needed before bank holidays so the bins are already empty going into busy periods. Bigger bins in parks would also make a huge difference. I’ve contacted Cardiff Council before about the park near me constantly having overflowing bins because of heavy use, but nothing ever seems to get done about it. At the same time, the public also has to take some responsibility by taking rubbish home and showing a bit of pride in the area. Right now, it’s hard to say Cardiff Council has much pride in the city either. It’s now up to Plaid Cymru to start sorting these problems out.” What do you think, should more bins and cleaning teams be provided during major heatwaves and bank holidays, or should visitors take greater responsibility for keeping parks clean? Have your say in our comments section.