Dog Poo Tree launches Council’s Environmental Crime Campaign
Ashfield District Council has today launched its latest campaign to tackle littering and dog fouling across the District.
The Council’s ‘don’t drop litter’ campaign aims to highlight the amount of litter and dog fouling the Council picks up that has been dropped and left by the public. As well as encourage a positive change in behaviour and attitude of the public when it comes to them making decisions on what to do with their litter and dog foul.
To launch the campaign four dog poo trees, in prominent park locations have been created across the District to highlight the problems with people not picking up dog waste or hanging their poo bags off trees.
The trees in Brierley Forest Park, Kingsway Park, Kirkby, Selston Country Park and Titchfield Park, Hucknall will display giant dog poo graphics hanging from branches to raise public awareness with the ongoing problem with people picking up their dog mess, but failing to put the bag in a bin or take it home. Instead thinking it’s acceptable to hang it from a tree.
Cllr David Martin, Cabinet Member for Streets, Parks & Town Centres said “Thousands of pounds are spent every year by the Council picking up litter and dog mess. Money that could be spent on other projects in the community. We’re asking residents to think before they leave their coffee cup on a bench or leave their dogs mess for someone else to pick up. There are 1200 Council owned bins across the District which we pledge to empty at least once every week. But not being near a bin is not an excuse to drop litter or leave behind waste.
“It is really frustrating to see people go to the trouble of buying dog poo bags and picking it up, only to then leave it on the floor, hanging from a tree or throwing it into a hedge bottom. Dog fouling can be picked up in any bag and thrown in any bin, including litter bins and your general waste bin at home.”
The campaign also highlights the £100 fine residents could face if caught littering or not picking up their dog fouling.
Since April a dedicated team of Environmental Enforcement Officers has been working across the District issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) to people caught littering.
So far 1015 FPNs have been issued, 1003 for littering and 12 for dog fouling.
Cllr Jason Zadrozny, Leader of Ashfield District Council said “These figures show what a problem littering is in Ashfield. Whether its flicking a cigarette butt into the gutter, leaving a coffee cup on a bench or letting a crisp packet blow away. These are all littering and a blight on our communities. We all have a responsibility to keep our communities clean and we hope this campaign helps residents see, that if we all play our part we’ll have a cleaner environment and the Council will have more money to spend on other projects.”
Last year the Council spent over £38k responding to reports of litter and fly tipping across the District. This is money that could be better spent on play equipment, planting, seating and facilities in our parks and green spaces.
Council’s don’t drop litter and Council’s don’t dog foul banners and posters have been put up in parks, green spaces and litter hotspots across the District. The campaign will run throughout the summer as more people are out and about enjoying the District.
Volunteers regularly support the Council with litter picking in their communities. If you are an individual interested in litter picking in your community please visit our volunteering opportunities.
