Dog walkers in the North Edinburgh area are being told to scoop their poop in an anti-litter initiative to tackle dog fouling.
In a hard-hitting campaign, tongue ‘in’ cheek chalk stencils will be painted onto pavements – to hit home the message that dog fouling will not be tolerated on city streets.
Environmental Wardens will be out in force to remind dog walkers in the Forth area of the city to pick up after their four-legged friends. And local residents will receive free poop scoops – to help kick off the project.
Posters are also being displayed in schools, libraries, doctor’s surgeries and local shops.
Dog mess on the streets is one of the top gripes of city residents. And in the north area of Edinburgh, Environmental Wardens are spending more time tackling the issue.
And the dog poo left on the street, not only makes the area look unsightly, it is also harmful to people because of the parasites.
Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environmental Leader, said: “More and more dog walkers are acting responsibly and this campaign is aimed at the hard core who have not yet got the message. We want to encourage responsible dog ownership, particularly with regard to cleaning up after them. Our Environmental Wardens are always on hand to encourage people to clean up after their pets. We want to promote a cleaner, greener city as well as offer helpful advice – which all contributes to making Edinburgh a beautiful place to live and visit.”
Dog fouling on the pavement or in the park can be a costly affair – as dog owners could receive a £40 fixed penalty notice.
This latest anti-litter scheme forms part of the Edenburgh campaign which was developed to bring about a direct behaviour change in residents in relation to recycling, littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping.
Last year, the Council ran an anti-litter initiative on Rose Street which proved to be very successful.
The week-long pilot scheme which took place in October 2010 found that cigarette litter decreased by 70 per cent during that week and two weeks after the project
