Dog owners encouraged to 'Walk This Way' and bin the bag!

• Beacon Country Park joins national scheme to clean up public spaces
• Green Flag site one of only 12 new sites included
• New maps including bins to make it easier for pet owners to dispose of waste

Dog owners who walk their pets in Beacon Country Park are being given a helping hand by West Lancs Borough Council, the Dogs' Trust and Keep Britain Tidy to make it easier for them to responsibly bin the dreaded black bag!

The Council has been working with the Dogs Trust on new maps which show where dog mess bins are in the Green Flag Award-winning park.

There are also colour-coded walking routes which clearly mark the length of the walk and direct walkers to the nearest bins to dispose of their dogs’ waste. The bins and signage will be in place until November.

The Walk This Way project is a joint endeavour between The Dogs Trust and Keep Britain Tidy, starting in 2017. This year, the programme has been extended to include just 12 new sites in the UK, including Beacon Country Park. This has been done after a National Trust survey of 2,000 dog owners found that 13 percent admitted leaving behind bagged dog mess, either accidentally or deliberately.

Councillor Yvonne Gagen, Leader of West Lancashire Borough Council, said: "Beacon Country Park is a wonderful place to visit. Providing clean, green spaces for everyone to enjoy is important on so many levels, particularly in improving everyone's health and wellbeing which is a top priority of the Council.

"We are really pleased to be one of only 12 new sites included in the Walk This Way programme and the new maps and bins will really help dog owners by showing where they need to dispose of their dog's mess."

Michelle Moat, Community Education & Engagement Officer at Dogs Trust, said: “Walking a dog is a wonderful past time with many health benefits for both owner and pooch. However, part of being a responsible dog owner is ensuring you pick up after your dog and suitably dispose of the waste. Previous interventions have shown that by having more bins available, clearer signposting and messaging that ‘Any Bin Will Do’ has dramatically improved the surrounding areas.
“We’re excited by the potential of our new Walk This Way routes and can’t wait to see the improvements it will make. Hopefully it will be a long-term change to the area and make the space more enjoyable for everyone.”

Keep Britain Tidy Litter and Place Services Manager, Rachel Scarisbrick, said: “We are pleased to be continuing this partnership to help dog owners clear up their dog poo and make green, public spaces free from unwanted waste: “We have already seen that Walk This Way has reduced the amount of waste left behind by dog owners and we hope that this success can continue in even more sites this year.”