Concerns Raised Over Park Cleanliness in Cardiff
A mother expressed her dismay after visiting a city park with her twins and encountering public bins overflowing with food waste, dog waste bags, and smoking-related items.
Sally Anne, 34, from Cardiff, described the condition of Kitchener Gardens playground as an "absolute hazard to children and really disappointing." She also reported finding bins overflowing with dog waste in the nearby Sanatorium Park.
Experiences at Kitchener Gardens and Sanatorium Park
Earlier this month, Sally took her 19-month-old son and daughter to Kitchener Gardens park in the Canton area, where she encountered various types of litter.
"I could not believe it," she said.
"There was takeaway containers, disposable plates, cutlery, a rug, full dog poo bags, vapes and broken glass. There was so much [litter]."
Sally became particularly concerned when her son, who has a peanut allergy, picked up a discarded disposable plate covered in food.
"He picked it up whilst I was with his sister, which could have been really harmful to him," she added.
After reporting the issue through the city council's app, Sally stated she "won't be returning to the park anytime soon."
She also found three bins overflowing with dog waste bags at Sanatorium Park, where a new children's play area was opened last year.
"I'm quite often out on my own with the twins so if there are additional things I have to worry about, I just wouldn't go back," Sally said.
"You have to be so careful because there is stuff [litter] everywhere all the time.
"We pay so much council tax, it just doesn't make sense."
Sally believes the bins are not emptied frequently enough and suggests increasing the number of bins in parks to encourage proper disposal of rubbish. She also emphasized the community's responsibility to maintain the parks.
"It's not hard to take your rubbish home with you," she added.
Local Dog Walker Highlights Frequent Overflowing Bins
Lee Mason, a 47-year-old dog walker from Cardiff, shared similar concerns, noting that unemptied public bins have become "all too common in many parks and streets around Cardiff lately."
He recently posted a photograph of a bin overflowing with dog waste bags in Hailey Park, Llandaff North, on a Facebook community group. He was surprised when the council removed the entire bin days later.
"Especially as it's the only bin that covers that area of the park and Taff Trail," said Lee.
The council responded that litter bins in Hailey Park had been reviewed and repositioned to improve access for collection crews, with no reduction in the number of bins available. Bins in the park are now emptied seven days a week under a new collection schedule.
Lee expressed that there are insufficient bins in some parks but stressed that people should be prepared to carry their waste until they find a bin or take it home.
"Personally, I don't think there are enough bins in some of our parks or green spaces, so granted you could be carrying a bag for some time before coming across another. But if you don't, then just take it home with you," he said.
Walking up to six dogs at a time, Lee often encounters routes without any bins, which he described as a "nightmare." To manage this, he has placed a bin in his van to safely dispose of dog waste bags.
Although Lee reports overflowing bins to the council, he noted that it can sometimes take days for action to be taken.
"Considering the number of hours I'm out walking each day, I hardly ever see a bin being emptied anymore."
Council Response and Ongoing Efforts
A Cardiff council spokesperson stated:
"We have recently introduced a new schedule to empty litter bins in parks and on the highway, as part of a wider strategy to improve the cleanliness of our streets across the city.
As with any change in a service, it will take a little time for the new arrangements to bed in, as our staff are working on new collection rounds to empty these bins and we would like to thank the public for their patience while this take place.
The council has over 2,100 litter bins in parks and on the highway across the city. If a litter bin is full, please look for other bins in the location that have capacity, or alternatively, where possible, we ask the public to take their litter home with them, dispose of it responsibly, and recycle as much as possible through the kerbside recycling scheme."
