Dogs Trust and Keep Wales Tidy have announced an extension to their successful programme, Walk This Way, intended to reduce the amount of dog waste left behind by dog walkers.

The programme’s pilot saw six popular dog walking routes receive a makeover to feature more bins and clear signage to find them – which saw an impressive 38 per cent decrease in dog fouling over the four week period.

The vast majority of people consider dog fouling to be the most offensive type of litter, yet research found that 13% of dog owners admit to leaving bagged dog poo behind on a walk. Of those who have left dog’s mess behind, the most common reason given for doing so was a lack of nearby bins 54 per cent. This was closely followed by forgetting to collect it on their way back (40 per cent) and bins nearby were too full (26 per cent).

The partnership is now calling on the public to nominate their local parks and public spaces to join the programme, which will be making over 18 new sites.

Based on the pilot, the 2018 activity will see the organisations work with with local authorities in order for the selected dog-friendly walking routes to feature signage, maps and colour-coded routes which clearly mark the length of the walk and direct walkers to the nearest bins to dispose of their dogs’ waste along the way.

Says Lee Paris, Dogs Trust senior campaigns officer said:“Part of being a responsible dog owner is ensuring you pick up after your dog and suitably dispose of the waste. Last year’s pilot showed that by having more bins available, clearer signposting and messaging that ‘Any Bin Is A Win’ has dramatically improved the surrounding areas. We now want to roll out the project more widely and are looking for suggestions from park managers, local authorities and residents if they think their local green space could benefit.”