Green bags hanging in treets - or 'What to do with dog poo'

THE GOOD news is that, over the past 18 months of running its dog fouling and Green Dog Walker campaigns, Falkirk Council and the Green Dog Walkers project have seen a marked increase in the public's use of the free green doggie bags that the council gives out.

Thirty four per cent more bags had to be ordered by the council this year than last year; the dog bins are being used and have to be emptied more often due to increased use.

The bad and puzzling news is that part of the reason they are seeing this increase is that they are LITERALLY SEEING THEM on the ground, next to bins, on the path, in the trees…even hanging in the trees.

It seems that somehow the message that dog owners need to not only bag but also BIN their dog's fouling got cut in half somewhere along the way. Just bagging is not sufficient.

Many people ask us if the bags are biodegradable. Although it is true that the bags are biodegradable, that doesn't mean you can just toss them on the ground. It can take months to years (sometimes 10 years) for them to biodegrade. I suspect some people think that if they toss them on the ground or into a tree, they will 'disappear' quickly.

In or out of a green bag, dog poo left sitting on the ground begins to form worms and contact with it can result in diseases such as toxacara canis, roundworm, salmonella, E-coli resulting in pneumonia, asthma and blindness. Children and footballers are most susceptible to this kind of contact and health risk.

During the winter snow there seemed to be another myth at work, that if you left the dog poo in the snow, it would disappear or melt away with the white stuff. Local children had a hard time sledging in parks because of the increase in dog fouling left behind.

It's pretty basic: You have a dog. The dog lives in your home. The dog has to do biological things like all creatures do. When the dog does its duty, it is not the dog's responsibility or ability to clean it up – even the most fastidious breed just can't do this for you. It is a responsibility that you took on when you got the dog. You are the dog's parent, so to speak. Most people would not leave their baby's diapers lying around the park or pavement. It's no different.

Green Dog Walkers would like to remind the public that in addition to dedicated dog bins, there are also regular bins that have big stickers on them to tell you it is OK to put dog poo bags in with the rest of the garbage. Of course if you can use a dog bin that's best but, if in doubt, do put it in a bin, any bin!

Some people complain to us that they don't see enough bins or dog fouling signs. However, the council spends thousands of pounds annually installing these – dog bins cost between £200-400 depending on the kind you get – and within days or weeks the vandals either burn or remove the bins, throwing them in the river or burns, and pull down the signs. The complexity of trying to deal with the dog poo problem in our district is very complicated!

The bottom line is it is the owner's responsibility, even if it means carrying the poo bag home to your own bin.

In case anyone doubts the severity of the problem, Green Dog Walkers suggests you just sit down and do the numbers. On any given block no doubt there are at least 10 dogs. If the owners walk them a minimum of twice a day (some more often) and let their dogs foul and leave it unattended, we are talking 20 poos a day usually left in the same area because many dog walkers always take the same route. That's 140 poos a week in the same area. It takes months to years for dog poo to "melt" into the ground, in or out of a bag.

Meanwhile, here come the same dog walkers again next week. Over the course of a year, those 10 dog owners are leaving 7280 poos on the ground.

Now multiply that times how many streets in Falkirk district….

Some parks in England have actually been shut down to dogs because of this problem. That could happen here if people don't change their behaviour. There are now several parks in our district that you cannot walk in unless you keep your eye carefully to the ground the whole time. You can't even set up a dog fouling awareness booth in those parks without stepping in it. Yet we send our children out to play there.

I have also observed dog owners opening their gates and letting their dogs out to do their duty on public pathways, then bringing the dog back into their unsullied garden and shutting the gate. Or pulling up to a park in their car, letting the dog out to poo while they sit in the car listening to the radio or having a cigarette. But not going out there to pick up the poo. This is shocking. Frankly, I would be pretty embarrassed if anyone saw me doing that!

I have met people who feel it is too embarrassing to carry a dog poo bag a few metres to a bin. I have also met an increasing number of people who are proud to swing that bag til they find the next bin, because it is a badge of honour to show they are good dog owners.

Over the next few months, the Green Dog Walkers project will be working with the Falkirk Council Litter Strategy team on increasing pledge booths in public parks, at football pitches and dog events to bring more public awareness to this problem. For more information contact greendogwalkers@yahoo.co.uk or e-mail the Litter Strategy team at litterzone@falkirk.gov.uk.


Michelle McCallum is founder of Community Green Initiative (CGI) -communitygreeninitiative@yahoo.co.uk - and editor of New Leaf News at http://static.greenvoice.com/new-leaf-news-march-09.pdf.