A new campaign has been launched in Waterford to tackle the issue of dog fouling.
The 'Bag it and bin it' initiative is a joint effort between a number of local authorities to try and encourage dog owners to clean up after their animals.
Ella Ryan is the Environmental Awareness Officer in Waterford.
She says it's not necessarily that there's more of it, but that it's being noticed more during the pandemic:
"I suppose, people are out and they're doing their 5km - they're doing the same routes most days - and they are noticing dog fouling on the paths.
"I think more people have gotten dogs during COVID, so there's a number of new dog walkers out there and we're just looking to raise the issue again that there's a small number of irresponsible dog owners who aren't cleaning up after their dogs."
Those involved in the initiative are also asking that owners make sure they bring their own bags with them, rather than relying on the publicly available bags. Those bags are supposed to be used in the event that an owner has forgotten their own.
Ella Ryan also pointed out that the 'Bin it' element of the campaign is particularly important:
"One of the things that we're going to tackle in the campaign is people who clean up after their dog but don't bin it.
"They may walk around the corner and when there's nobody there, they will leave the bag on a tree or on a wall. That's quite frustrating because they clearly know that they need to clean up after their dogs but they're not willing to follow through and put it in the bin.
"That's where the two parts of the campaign title, 'Bag it and bin it', came from."
Pictured at the launch of the ‘Bag It, Bin It’ campaign is James McCormack, Dog Warden with Waterford City and County Council, Mayor of Waterford City and County Council Cllr. Geoghegan and Paul Flynn, Environmental Inspector with Waterford City and County Council (l-r)
