Parish Council
Dog Waste Report November 2022
Report to Sticklepath Parish Council – November 2022
Purpose of report
To discuss options for dealing with dog waste in the village.
Background
Dog bins x 3 located next to road bridge, Finch Foundry field and end of Back Lane adjacent to Taw River car park.
The bin at Finch Foundry was purchased by the National Trust along with a poo bag dispenser, which they replenish with bags.
The bin by the road bridge was purchased by the Parish Council – possibly within the last 5 years – to encourage dog owners using the Tarka Trail to pick up their dog mess. This bin was then added to the bin collection service provided by WDBC.
Bins (along with litter bin at bus stop by Devonshire Inn) are collected by WDBC on Tuesdays as follows:
- 1 April to 30 September – weekly
- 1 October to 31 March – fortnightly
Total annual cost of bin collecting: £525
Action taken in the past
As above, the National Trust bought a larger bin and the Parish Council purchased the bin by the road bridge.
Occasionally, the collection is missed by WDBC. If this happens WDBC are notified and the bins are collected by the end of the week.
The bin at the end of Back Lane is often full (as it is small) and the bin by Finch Foundry has occasionally been full. Cllr Rowlands provides a black bin bag for use.
October 2022 – by 17 October (first collection after fortnightly collections started) the bin on Finch Foundry was overflowing,. Cllr Rowlands put a black bin bag by the bin and attached a notice on the bin asking that poo bags were put in the black bag, in the litter bin by the bus stop or taken home.
Notice put on website asking people to take poo bags home or put in bin by bus stop. One response from a parishioner was received:
- With respect, asking residents of Sticklepath to take their dog waste home is not the answer to the problem of overflowing dog waste bins. We encourage tourists here and dog walkers are well to the fore with Finch Foundry Car Park being their base of choice. We need more or bigger dog waste receptacles there, not restrictions on the use of the currently inadequate one.
By next collection on 1 November, the bins by the Tarka Trail and Finch Foundry were only ½ to ¾ full. The small bin at the end of Back Lane was full but not overflowing. This was after the half-term week. It isn’t clear if this was due to reduced number of visitors to village or local dog owners taking their dog bags home.
Cllr Rowlands has approached WDBC for a quote for weekly bin collections from 1 October to 31 March. She has also asked whether bin collection can be split (eg. Bus stop and road bridge bins are still emptied fortnightly and the 2 other dog bins weekly). Awaiting response.
Options
- Leave collections as they are and monitor bin usage. Future discussion by Parish Council on a date to be agreed.
- 1 above, plus increase signage by bins requesting people to take dog poo bags home (and info on cost of bin collections?)
- Purchase a larger bin(s) for Finch Foundry and Back Lane
- Provide an additional bin at Finch Foundry – for which there would be an additional charge for collection
- Increase bin collections to weekly for the whole year – either increase all 4 bins or just Finch Foundry and Back Lane bins.
- Remove dog bins completely – as is the case in many locations, e.g. Belstone. Savings made could be use for other parish responsibilities – e.g. Verge cutting, bus shelter renovations .
Cllr Lois Rowlands November 2022