Over 200 sign petition against phasing out of dog waste bins

More than 200 people have signed the petition set up by Sam Barry following comments made by Richard Evans, deputy managing director of States Trading Assets, in the Guernsey Press letters page about household collections.

In response to a query about how the new separate waste collection system would impact dog owners, he said that dog waste needed to go in with general rubbish, and they wanted owners to consider the collection crew and the staff at Longue Hougue and avoid putting out bags made up entirely of dog waste.

‘Incidentally, if islanders have noticed a reduction in dedicated dog waste bins around the island, this is the reason.

‘These are being phased out, and in their place the general waste bins can be used for dog poo bags,’ he wrote.

Professional dog walker Samantha Barry said that the news was confusing considering the States had claimed to be reducing the number of bins to discourage fly-tippers. ‘I don’t understand really, the States are saying that they want mixed loads in bins ie: dog waste and general waste but, for example on the Common and other dog walks, the majority would be dog waste.

‘In the Vale and St Sampson’s there’s a lot of bins but in other popular dog walking spots around the island there’s hardly any.

‘On average, I have about 40 bags a day, and that’s just me. There are ten thousand dogs on the island, so we definitely need more.

‘We pay enough dog tax already between us to pay for more bins, not less.

‘I do think there should be a register and tighter controls on who does and doesn’t pay their dog tax as well.

‘Because if all dog owners paid the tax the parish would have more money to spend on dog bins and maybe more dog wardens,’ she said.

One signatory of the online petition, David Brehaut, said:

‘Everywhere in France you see dog bag dispensers by bins and dogs welcome in shops, restaurants, hotels etc.

‘Guernsey should be increasing the number of dig bins, not removing them completely.’