04 June 2018
‘Walk this way’ - Keep Britain Tidy's innovation trial, with the Dogs Trust charity, saw an impressive 38% cut in dog fouling. And now we want to spread the benefits – asking councils to nominate their local parks or public spaces to receive the make-over too.
Whilst the vast majority of people think dog fouling is the most offensive litter, our research found 13% of dog owners admit to leaving bagged dog poo behind on a walk. The most common reason was a lack of nearby bins (54%), followed by forgetting to collect it on their way back (40%) and bins nearby being too full (26%).
The pilot saw six popular dog walking routes receive a makeover to feature more bins and clear signage to find them – leading to a 38% decrease in dog fouling over the four week period.
We’ll be making-over a further 18 sites – so we are asking local authorities to nominate your local parks and public spaces to join us. Once we have the 18 new sites, we’ll be working with local authorities to feature signage, maps and colour-coded routes which clearly mark the length of the walk and direct walkers to the nearest bins to dispose of their dogs’ waste along the way.
Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “Contrary to what some people seem to think, there is, in fact, no such thing as the dog poo fairy who will come along and remove their bagged dog poo. The responsibility is on the owner.
“This approach has led to a marked reduction in the amount of bagged poo littering parks and we’re keen to see if this success can be mirrored in even more sites this year.”
If you manage a green or public space, with a dog-fouling issue, and you’d be interested in getting involved visit www.dogstrust.org.uk/walkthisway to express an interest by 22 June.
