Call: 01209 890029

Facts on dog fouling

Dog mess is rated as a "top 10" nuisance, topping the chart in a recent European survey, and is consistently one of the highest sources of complaints by the public to MPs, local councillors and local authorities. Dog mess still proves a major problem, once bagged, to environmental authorities, cleansing departments etc, as the plastic waste bags of dog mess are frequently left as litter, with all the associated environmental hazards. Owners of accessible land open to the public, from nature reserves to gardens and parks, all face the same problems - how many dog waste bins, how often to empty them, litter pick-ups of dropped dog waste bags, and all the associated costs of disposal.

The facts

• Councils receive approximately 226,000 complaints about dog fouling every year (source: ENCAMS)
• There are approximately 6.5 million dogs in the UK, producing around 1,000 tonnes of dog messevery day (source: ENCAMS)
• The cost to British taxpayers of clearing up after dog fouling is around £2.3 million every year.
• Britain has around 1.2 million dog waste bins.
• By law it is every dog owner's duty to clear up after their dog. Failure to do so can even lead to a fine of up to £1000 and even prosecution - The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. New legislation has made this easier (see Dogs & your neighbourhood).

Legislation and social disapproval are not the only pressure factors. The cost of waste collection and disposal is an ever-increasing burden on Local Authorities, with heavy fines on the amount of waste sent to landfill, and increasingly expensive costs for hazardous waste disposal. All this goes straight onto council tax and budgets. Further information can be found via ENCAMS, the Government's anti-litter agency, on www.encams.org.