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Owners dumping dog mess as bins removed
THE removal of dogwaste bins in areas where there is no parish council should be reconsidered, a local councillor claims. The use of conventional bins to dispose of animal mess has not worked, says Cllr John Barned. He says that parish councils in
more affluent parts of the borough such as SuttonValence or Headcorn can afford to pay for the receptacles to be emptied. But Cllr Barned insists that is not
an option for poorer areas. He has written to the chairman of
the borough council’s communities, housing and environment commit- tee, Marion Ring, asking for a re- think of the policy. Maidstone Borough Council an- nounced the removal of the bins last year in a bid to save money and have urged residents to use normal bins or take thewaste home. Cllr Barned, of Ukip, said: “Many
parish councils like Lenham have the funds to take the bins back and pay for them to be emptied. “But areas like Shepway south, Shepway north, Senacre and Park Wood don’t have parish councils so
Take bags home Cllr John Barned with Tina Fisher (left) and Caroline McDowell
there is no one to pick up the bill. “Shepway south is the most de-
prived area in Maidstone, so how can it afford to have bins emptied?” Conservative Cllr Ring, who lives
in Shepway, said there would be no rethink, adding: “You can put dog waste in normal bins or you can take it home but if people don’t take it home with them, they are fly-tip- ping and that needs to be enforced.” Senacre residents Tina Fisher and CarolineMcDowell are “disgusted” at the state of the bins since the waste receptacleswere removed. Tina said: “I have four dogs and people just don’t seem to be clear- ing up after themselves. The fields
nearmeare covered in dog poo. It’s not a nice place towalk your dogs.” Caroline added: “The bin by the
bus stop up by Longparish is par- ticularly disgusting – it stinks. It needs to be sorted.” In Kingswood, it has been noted
that there has been a marked in- crease in dog-fouling on the playing fields while a local shopkeeper has reported “large bags of dog waste” in the bins outside his shop. The problem was so bad he had
to remove them. The issue was compounded be-
cause the “co-mingle” bins to ease the removal of the dog waste con- tainers had not arrived.
BEARSTED resident Margaret Young took this picture of an over- flowing bin in Rosemary Road after reading about dog owners throwing bags of dog mess into bushes or hanging them on trees. She said the “normal” bin which
is now meant to be used for both rubbish and animal waste was over-filled. She said: “This waste bin was
overflowing with
bags.Nowonder they are being thrown in hedges or owners are not clearing up after their dogs. I take my dog’s mess home if I can't throw it in a bin.” Cllr Marion Ring, chairman of
the borough council’s environment committee, said: “The sad fact is that for some people you could put a golden carpet down and they would still throw the mess in the hedges.”
News
Maidstone Weald March 2017 29
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