Waterford Council says no more poo bags
'The results of a pilot scheme we ran found that there was no negative impact on littering.' Photo: iStock
The council announced that it would no longer provide dog waste bags in public places anymore at the December sitting of the Dungarvan-Lismore District Council.
Cllr Donnchadh Mulcahy first raised the subject, saying: “I can’t remember exactly, but was it seventy grand we spent on poo bags? Surely, we can get them cheaper than that.”
The reported earlier this year that Waterford City and County Council spent €63,000 on 1.6 million poo bags in 2023. Dog waste in public places such as Clonea Beach persists, although the council's policy is that people should be responsible for their own litter.
Senior Executive Officer in the Environment Department, Dawn Wallace replied to Mulcahy’s question: “The results of a pilot scheme we ran found that there was no negative impact on littering, and it's been agreed that we’re going to remove the dog waste bags; the removal of them across the county will be incremental. We’re not just going to take them away; we will put up posters and stickers.”
Ms Wallace also said that there will be a social media campaign informing people of the change as well.
The council plans to cease providing dog waste bags to the public within the next six months.
