Disgust as Dog Poo Bins Removed (Wokingham Liberal Democrats)

Wokingham Liberal Democrats <info@wokinghamlibdems.org.uk>

Disgust as Dog Poo Bins Removed

March 31, 2009 12:12 PM

Dog Poo in bags where the bin used to be, Sandford Park, Woodley

Wokingham Liberal Democrats say they have been inundated with complaints from residents that dog litter bins have been removed from parks and recreation grounds. The Tory-controlled council removed the bins to save money. Unfortunately they removed the bins without informing dog walkers that normal litter bins could be used. They are now having to install new litter bins where dog bins used to be.

Cllr Phil Challis (Lib Dem councillor for Loddon ward) says, "Putting dog poo in normal litter bins is a terrible idea. Residents do not want the smell and risk of using litter bins that have dog poo in them. More importantly, our children are at risk if they inadvertently come into contact with it, as it can cause blindness.

"The Tories announced the policy of removing dog poo bins at the Council meeting in February and the bins have since been removed. But instead of informing the public that normal litter bins should be used, they just left the empty bin posts. Without knowing what they were supposed to do, dog walkers have been leaving bags of dog excrement hanging from the posts.

"This is disgusting, and could have been avoided completely if the council had got its act together. It would have made all the difference if they had attached notices to the dog bin posts informing dog walkers to use the normal litter bins. How hard would that have been?

"I don't understand why the council didn't just leave the dog bins as they were and arranged to collect the contents when emptying the normal litter bins. It would have been the simplest, safest and most hygienic thing to do. It seems the Tory executive can't even sort out dog mess, let alone the mess they've made of running the council over the past 7 years."