More bins needed to tackle growing dog poo problem in Rathfarnham
Councillors in South Dublin County Council (SDCC) have called for more bins in the Rathfarnham-Templeogue area due to an increasing issue of dog waste in the area.
Introducing a motion on the issue at a local area meeting, Fianna Fáil councillor Yvonne Collins said the problem had grown “disgusting” for people living in these areas.
“I think one of the issues raised most often with me is the problem of dog poo and general littering,” she said.
“Just the amount of dog poo littered around seems to be incredible.
“What’s even more incredible is when people go to the trouble of picking it up and then leaving it in the nearest tree, in a ditch or anywhere but a bin.
“I’ve noticed that a lot of the bins along Ballyroan Road, Whitechurch Road and into Butterfield are always full. I’ve even seen some existing bins being taken away.
“I really would like to see us reduce this because there’s nothing more disgusting for mothers pushing buggies or people in wheelchairs than so much dog waste on the ground.”
Councillor Collins proposed a motion that some locations would receive priority for placing litter bins – including town and village centres, close to shops, school routes, bus stops and large parks.
The South Dublin council area currently has around 900 litter bins, with a policy of providing maximum coverage of bins to areas within its remit.
Responding to the motion, council management said people had been dumping household waste in public litter bins, adding to the issue of “overflowing” bins.
“We have an awful lot of issues, including people dumping their household waste into our bins,” a manager for SDCC said.
“Even though bins are being emptied on a daily basis, they are overflowing immediately due to household waste and we’re actively trying to address that.
“Our bins are located at strategic points. I am happy to look at alternative locations if and when they are requested from members of the public in instances where they notice any gaps.”
According to Fianna Fáil councillor Emma Murphy, the management of litter bins could be a larger issue when it comes to managing public spaces in the county.
“These could be positive problems because people are reporting these gaps to us, and that means we can utilise our public spaces better taking that into account,” she said.
“How we manage or mismanage that is where our bigger challenge is. We have to figure out a way of looking into why people throw household rubbish into public bins or throw dog waste into our trees.
“Why are so many of our bins missing? Before we put more in, we need to look at why these gaps exist and why the public are choosing to respond this way.”