‘Dog waste can now be placed in any bin’, says council

North Yorkshire Council has responded to criticism of its new system for street litter bins.

Some 1,500 smaller litter bins in the Harrogate area are being replaced by a smaller number of new larger bins.

Many of the new bins are situated alongside main roads rather on dog walking routes to make them easier for council workers to get to.

Some dog owners are dumping poo bags in areas where the old bins were rather than walk to main roads and put their dogs on leads.

Dog waste piling up in Jennyfields.

The Stray Ferret has recently reported concerns about this policy in Knox and Jennyfields.

Barrie Mason, assistant director for the environment at the council, said the old bins were removed following a service review and the new approach conformed with good practice guidance from the Waste and Recycling Action Partnership charity.

He said:

“We are currently implementing a new infrastructure for our street litter bins in the Harrogate area.

“The newer bins have a larger capacity and house a wheeled bin. This means they are efficiently emptied by our larger wagons, reducing the risk from manual handling individual bags.

“With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps to reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together.”

Dog waste ‘no longer classified as hazardous’

Mr Mason added:

“We are implementing new routes which reduce the number of vehicle miles and emissions while freeing up our street cleansing teams to provide a more proactive service, including in our urban areas.

“There are some associated savings from the project, from a reduction in the amount of skips, single use plastic liners and fuel we use.

“Dog waste is no longer classified as hazardous waste and can now be placed in any bin, eliminating the need for specialist bins that further reduce street clutter and manual handling risks. This also means dog waste can be placed in owners’ general waste bins when they return home without adjusting walking routes.”

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Mr Mason said bins “are emptied less frequently” in off-road areas in places like Jennyfields “but will be emptied as frequently as required”. He added:

“The emptying frequencies and bin locations are something we’ll be continuing to monitor.

“The work in Jennyfields is still ongoing, and officers are communicating with the relevant local councillor over the new locations and any issues that may arise.

“Harrogate leisure centre has a large open space with a basketball court, so we will be installing a bin soon.”