People in a west London borough fear it will become covered in dog poo after their cash-strapped council decided to remove 700 dog-waste bins to save money. Hillingdon’s pet dogs produce about 174 tonnes of faeces each year, which, until now, has been generally bagged up by their owners and deposited in dog-waste bins. The Conservative-run council believes it will save £100,000 in waste collection costs by removing the bins.
It hopes dog owners will use general litter bins instead, but O’Neill and many other people are unconvinced. The dog bins have lids so the smell stays inside. General bins don’t, so they stink and can be got at by foxes.” Hillingdon is not the first council to remove dog-waste bins to try to save money.
Similar plans have prompted outrage in Cornwall, Kent, North Somerset and elsewhere. Hillingdon borough’s large debts are increasing by £5.6m a year. Its schools grant deficit alone is £101.5m and the government has “serious concerns” about the borough’s finances, which could jeopardise its chances of continuing to rely on exceptional financial support grants from Whitehall.
At the same time, Hillingdon prides itself on having frozen council tax for years. This was the root of the problem, according to O’Neill, who said he had observed the last 150 council meetings. When I tell them that their bins are going to get taken away, they go nuts.” Comments on Ruislip’s residents’ association Facebook page appear to bear this out.
Another said it was “madness” and added: “Are they trying to completely alienate the residents? There are enough selfish dog owners who already don’t pick up after their dogs so they think removing the bins will improve that?” One resident said: “Sadly this is probably a decision by someone who does not have a clue how much shit is created by dogs. As a dog owner there are not enough bins.
This is shortsighted.” Punja said Hillingdon had a lot of dog owners. I was one of those Covid dog owners.” She added: “This is just one of the council’s harebrained ideas they have come up with when they can’t balance the books … It probably would be simpler to put up council tax. I can only describe it as dog-shit, excuse my language – but to have to scramble to such a level where you have to take away dog bins; it’s desperate.” A council report setting out the plan said it would save £160,000, of which £60,000 would be reinvested in street cleaning.
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