Hitting London: Council angers residents with removal of 700 dog-waste bins

Bins set to be removed

Hillingdon’s Conservative-run council intends to take away 700 dog-waste bins as part of efforts to reduce spending. The borough’s dogs produce about 174 tonnes of faeces a year, which owners have generally bagged and placed in those bins.

A council report says the plan would save £160,000. Of that sum, £60,000 would go back into street cleaning, making the net saving £100,000. The report says putting dog waste in ordinary public litter bins would more than double existing capacity and allow collections to join the council’s street-cleaning service.

Residents raise concerns

Residents fear bags of dog waste will be left in public places if dedicated bins disappear. One resident described the proposal as “madness,” while another said there were already too few bins for dog owners.

Labour councillor Punja said dog bins in woodland areas were already overflowing and that general bins were not plentiful enough. Punja also warned that general bins lack lids, allowing smells to escape and foxes to reach their contents.

A wider cost debate

Punja said the borough had many dog owners and that their numbers rose sharply during Covid. The proposed removal has become a prominent local concern, according to O’Neill, who said residents reacted more strongly to the bin plan than to the council’s deficit or audit issues.