EPPING: Council refuses bin for dog waste (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Signs but no bin near forest in Thornwood

6:25pm Monday 9th November 2009 in Your Local Areas By Edmund Tobin

A FOREST walker sick of picking up dog waste near her home has demanded the council install proper bins.

Fiona Daniels, 46, from Thornwood, Epping, said Epping Forest District Council had erected a number of signs asking dog walkers to bin their waste but provided no actual bins to put the waste in.

She said: “There's a path at Woodside that leads to the forest and by the signs that say 'Dog Fouling: Bin It' there's dog poo everywhere. I have to go round picking it up. It's disgusting.

“Children queue for the school bus on the pavement in Duck Lane beside this filthy, dangerous excrement. There's dog poo outside people's houses and you see old people who have to pick it up. It's not very nice.”

Ms Daniels wrote to the council explaining the situation but was told that a new bin would be too expensive and the situation did not merit one.

Assistant director for neighbourhoods Jim Nolan writes in his reply: “The provision, maintenance and emptying of these bins is a considerable expense to the authority, and is not a statutory requirement.”

Mr Nolan also states that the council cannot place bins on forest land as it is governed by the Corporation of London.

His reply has not satisfied Ms Daniels who is now threatening to raise a petition on the subject.

She said: “I have asked the old people in the cottages who proudly maintain their gardens, and have been told they are sick and tired of excrement on their verges.

“The council have got so many signs telling you to bin dog waste but you'd have to carry it a quarter of a mile to do that. I just think that's unreasonable.”

A spokeswoman for The Corporation of London said: "The City of London works with all neighbouring boroughs on waste management strategy. Redbridge and Waltham Forest Councils have placed both dog bins and bins in general on Forest land. We welcome input from the Epping Forest District Council and should they approach us we would certainly consider their requests.

"There have also been trialing areas combining general waste and dog waste in the same bin and if successful we may extend that to other areas in the Forest"

A spokeswoman for Epping Forest District Council said: "The notice which is referred to is not a sign telling people to put their waste in the dog bin. It is a poster which encourages people to 'bag it and bin it'.

"The area where fouling takes place is actually Forest Land, which is not designated under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act. This means that owners cannot be issued with a fixed penalty notice for failing to clear up after their pet.

"The Council's Animal Welfare Officer has visited the area on several occasions and there is not a severe fouling problem currently in the surrounding streets. He will continue to monitor the situation.

"There is already a dog waste bin near the Village Hall and so it was felt that another bin was not necessary, (Each dog waste bin costs £250 to install and over £500 per year to empty). In addition dog owners can take their waste home and put it in their black wheelie bin or alternatively use any other litter bin."