Keep dog poo out of park bins

People out walking their dogs are being asked to take used dog poo bags home with them rather than dumping them in park rubbish bins.

 “If you’re in a park with your dog, please bag any dog poo and take it home with you and put in in your red wheelie bin. Don’t put it in the park rubbish bins,’’ says Christchurch City Council Head of Parks Andrew Rutledge.

“We are following Ministry of Health guidelines and the government’s initiative to minimise activity out in the public, so we only have a skeleton crew of essential workers checking the city and regional parks daily.

“This is a very small crew and they cannot get to every bin at once, but will be working their way through the parks network. They’re having to look after themselves by using PPE when these supplies could be used elsewhere.

“Emptying dog poo bags from park bins doesn’t have to be an essential service during the lockdown if dog walkers heed the call to take the waste home and dispose of it in their red bin,’’ Mr Rutledge says.

“We want people to take responsibility for this individually. Every bin call out means staff have to leave their bubble for extended periods of time. This is a simple gesture every dog walker can easily achieve to help keep our parks staff safe and well.’’