Pembrokeshire County Council are encouraging members of the public to report any information relating to the illegal use of litter bins by businesses or holiday lets in Tenby.

A statement from the authority comes following a letter of concern sent to PCC’s head of environment, Richard Brown, from Tenby Chamber of Trade and Tourism, over the level of rubbish seen on the streets of the resort this summer.

“The level of rubbish in the streets of Tenby has been high on Monday morning prior to waste collection,” wrote the Chamber of Trade’s secretary Andy Adamson.

“The seagulls have begun to attack the orange bags, presumably as more of the black bagged waste is now in tamper/seagull proof bags.

“Compounding this problem are the holiday lets who often leave their rubbish near a dustbin on Saturday as they leave, which is usually littering the streets by Monday morning.

“After many years of this problem, do you have any suggestions or proposals to reduce this problem? The Chamber would propose that collection times are considered, partly due to the Saturday changeover for visitors,” he added.

A spokesperson for the county council has stated that collection times in Tenby may vary from day to day over the busy summer season.

“As the town is particularly busy at this time of year, bin emptying times may vary slightly from one day to another,” they remarked.

“We are aware of allegations that a number of businesses and holiday lets in the town are illegally using the street litter bins as a way of disposing of their rubbish.

“This is resulting in a number of the drums filling up very quickly and overflowing, causing mess around the bins.

“We are currently reviewing the use of the drums as bins and are pursuing a number of leads regarding the allegations of illegal use of litter bins, which should only be used for general litter.

“If any member of the public has information relating to the illegal use of litter bins by a business or holiday property, they are asked to contact the council.

“In this regard, it should be emphasised that this is not a victimless crime in that it contributes to at least part of the problem of overflowing bins, with its associated environmental and health issues and the general unsightly impact that it has upon its locality.

“Also, someone is profiting from the business but it is the council taxpayer who has to to pay to dispose of the waste,” continued the spokesperson.

Responding to an allegation from a member of the public who suggested that a county council collection van drove straight past a full waste bin on Tenby’s South Beach over the weekend, with out collecting the contents, the spokesperson for PCC pointed out that the vehicles travel to the far end of the beach to start with and then empties the bins of the way back.

“Beach cleaning operations in Tenby are carried out daily between 6 am and 2 pm with an additional clean between 4 pm and 6 pm - the same as in previous years,” added the council spokesperson.