Dog Poo Tree launches Council’s Environmental Crime Campaign

Ashfield District Council has launched its latest campaign to tackle littering and dog fouling.

The ‘don’t drop litter’ campaign aims to highlight the amount of litter and dog fouling the council picks up that has been dropped by the public, as well as encouraging 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 have been created across in prominent park locations 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.

Coun David Martin, cabinet member for streets, parks and 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 1,200 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 1,015 FPNs have been issued, 1,003 for littering and 12 for dog fouling.

Coun Jason Zadrozny, council leader, added: “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.”

Don’t drop litter and don’t dog foul banners and posters have been put up in parks, green spaces and litter hotspots.

Volunteers regularly support the council with litter picking in their communities. If you are an individual interested in litter picking in your community visit https://www.ashfield.gov.uk/your-council/jobs-careers/volunteering-opportunities/