Litter and Dog Fouling Enforcement
| More than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day. The cost to the taxpayers for street cleaning is over £1 billion a year. All litter is unsightly and makes our local areas look untidy and uncared for.
Dog mess is the most unacceptable and offensive type of litter on our streets, parks and open spaces. Dog fouling is not only deeply unpleasant, it is dangerous. Whilst rare, contact with dog excrement can cause toxocariasis – a nasty infection that can lead to dizziness, nausea, asthma and even blindness or seizures. There are estimated to be more than 8 million dogs producing more than 1,000 tonnes of mess every day in the UK alone so it is no wonder dog fouling is a problem across the country Both dropping litter and failing to clear up after your dog have now been criminal offences for over 25 years for which a £100 fixed penalty notice can now be issued which if unpaid can lead to prosecution. |
New Resources
| As part of this year’s Great British Spring Clean Campaign we invested in initiatives to reduce litter and dog fouling across our district which included:
We are now pleased to announce additional resources to enhance enforcement of littering and dog fouling.
DDC is teaming up with Waste Investigation Support and Enforcement Limited (WISE), who have secured a three-year contract tender. The company will provide three uniformed Environmental Enforcement Officers (EEOs) whose role will be to patrol the district and serve Fixed Penalty notices to persons they witness drop litter or fail to clean up after their dogs.
The additional resource will enable DDC’s Environmental Enforcement Officer and Dog Warden to spend more time on other environmental crime-related issues including fly-tipping investigations, stray dogs and the enforcement of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) at our parks and beaches.
The contract means no additional cost to the Council. WISE will only receive a proportion of the income from each paid Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). Any additional income generated will go back into supporting the service and developing new education and awareness campaigns, to encourage recycling and environmental awareness, and help to harness pride in the district.
These new EEOs will start work patrolling our district from Monday the 18th of October 2021.
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Reporting
| We would like to encourage Parish and Town Councils to report littering and dog fouling in their areas. These reports are useful in the tasking and direction of patrolling for these new officers. Should you wish to report issues or request patrols in your area please contact us in one of the following ways:
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