Here is the full list of locations
21:14, 29 Aug 2026Updated 13:00, 30 Aug 2026
Overflowing litter bins at Victoria Park in Canton(Image: WalesOnline)
Some 37 litter bins across the Welsh capital have been removed over the last three years with no replacement. Cardiff Council told us the changes were driven by people misusing the bins for household waste – but locals say it has led to more rubbish being dropped on their streets.
In 2024 the council announced plans to save money by reducing the number of litter bins on residential streets and instead prioritise district centres, parks, bus stops and dog-walking routes. At the time it claimed the bins were not used enough and attracted fly-tipping.
Our Freedom of Information request has now revealed the Cardiff locations where bins have been taken away since 2023 without being replaced. Here is the full list:
PCP Newport Road, PlasnewyddTavistock pub, Bedford Street, PlasnewyddOpposite the Claude Pub, PlasnewyddPlasnewydd Square, PlasnewyddWindsor Gardens and Windsor Avenue, Radyr (three bins removed at this location)Station Road, RadyrGrange Gardens, Grangetown (two bins removed)Surrey Street, GrangetownSevern Road, CantonCanton community car park, CantonCorner of Kingsland Road, CantonSanquhar Street bus stop, SplottCorner of Carlisle Street and Coveny Street, SplottOutside the Old Star leisure centre, SplottCardiff Harlequins rugby club, WhitchurchPenlline Road car park, WhitchurchFlaxland Avenue, HeathParkfield, HeathEntrance to Pentwyn Park, PentwynBottom of Hollybush Road, PentwynQueen Street, city centrePenny bar, High Street, city centre24 Rhyl Road, RumneyWentloog Road bus stop, RumneyChurch Road, Old St Mellons (two bins removed)36 Elgar Crescent, Llanrumney130 Broadway, AdamsdownBus stop near Clydesmuir Road, TremorfaBehind Heath Park Way, HeathThornhill Park, ThornhillParc Rhydypenau, CyncoedPentyrch (street not specified)Schooner Way, Butetown
The reduction has not gone unnoticed on social media. One local recently posted on Reddit: “The outskirts have always had problems. Hell, I live in Grangetown where it’s an endless pit of rubbish-related issues. I’d much rather they invest in these areas than centrally.”
Another wrote: “I think there’s a legitimate concern [that] reducing the numbers of bins increases the likelihood of rubbish on the street. People who care enough about the bins are the type who will actually bring their rubbish home. Others will just go “well they reduced the bins so littering is on them”, or just not care at all.”
The council said it had installed larger bins throughout the city centre to “increase the bin capacity” and give more options to recycle on the go.
But that strategy was challenged by one Reddit member who wrote: “Reducing the number of bins in exchange for fewer, larger bins has got to be one of the more braindead choices made by the council.
“If you’re a conscientious person you’re going to be walking with garbage for ages because the council, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the bin shortage should be worsened… Every bin they installed replaced multiple existing bins, so now we have areas with very little coverage.”
Others pointed to the financial pressures facing the council as social care and education costs soar – together accounting for more than 74% of the total budget.
“The council being responsible for special educational needs and adult social care leaves the already stretched budget totally broken,” wrote one. “People call foul on the council for these public annoyances, but the reality is that the system is broken.”
Analysis by the council in 2024 found cutting litter bin provision could save £139,000 per year.
A spokesman for the council has now told us its “strategic review” of litter bins was based on “how they are used by the public and how the waste deposited in them is collected by council staff”.
He said: “Litter bins are intended for street litter only and should not be used for household waste. Litter bins that are regularly misused, either for the disposal of household waste or where waste is fly-tipped alongside them, are often removed as they can become an eyesore within local communities.
“We will be producing a litter bin strategy later in the year which will provide an evidence-based approach to the provision, management and renewal of public litter bins.
“The use of litter bins is monitored to ensure they are being used appropriately… If a litter bin is not available or is full, please take your litter home and dispose of it responsibly.”
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