Residents urged to nominate parks in Droitwich which they feel need a 'dog poo makeover' - The Droitwich Standard

Residents urged to nominate parks in Droitwich which they feel need a 'dog poo makeover'

Droitwich Editorial 19th Jun, 2018   0

RESIDENTS across Bromsgrove, Rubery and Droitwich are being urged to nominate a park or walk that could do with a ‘dog poo makeover’.

The plea comes from Dogs Trust and Keep Britain Tidy who have announced an extension to their successful programme, Walk This Way, intended to reduce the amount of dog waste left behind by dog walkers.

The programme’s pilot saw six popular dog walking routes receive a makeover to feature more bins and clear signage to find them – which saw an impressive 38% decrease in dog fouling over the four week period.

The vast majority of people consider dog fouling to be the most offensive type of litter, yet research found that 13 per cent of dog owners admit to leaving bagged dog poo behind on a walk.




Of those, the most common reason given for doing so was a lack of nearby bins, followed by forgetting to collect it on their way back and bins nearby were too full.

The partnership is now calling on the public to nominate their local parks and public spaces to join the programme, which will be making over 18 new sites.


Based on the pilot, the 2018 activity will see the organisations work with local authorities for the selected dog-friendly walking routes 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.

Lee Paris of Dogs Trust said: “Part of being a responsible dog owner is ensuring you pick up after your dog and suitably dispose of the waste.

“We now want to roll out the project more widely and are looking for suggestions from park managers, local authorities and residents if they think their local green space could benefit.”

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 want to register your local space to be one of the options for the 18 news sites please contact [email protected] or visit www.dogstrust.org.uk/walkthisway by Friday, June 22.

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