The Big Scoop - Annual Dog Fouling Campaign

Dogs Trust and Keep Britain Tidy join forces for The Big Scoop 2015 campaign.

We are a nation of dog lovers, owning over eight million dogs in the UK. With eight million dogs comes a lot of dog waste, in fact the UK dog population produces over 1,000 tonnes of doggy doo a day, that’s the equivalent of 200 elephants, three airplanes or 100 double decker buses.

Despite the majority of dog owners being responsible and picking up after their pooch, dog waste remains a prominent and unpleasant issue across the country. To launch its third annual anti- fouling campaign, The Big Scoop 2015, Dogs Trust and Keep Britain Tidy are calling on people nationwide to become ambassadors for the campaign as a ‘Scooper Hero’ and spread the message about picking up after your pooch and reminding them to ‘bag it and bin it’.

Dogs Trust Head of Campaigns, Frances Abson hopes this year’s The Big Scoop campaign will encourage ‘Scooper Heroes’ to spread the key messages in the campaign:

"Dog fouling is still one of the most complained about public nuisances to councils because it affects everyone, whether you are a dog owner or not. The Big Scoop is all about supporting councils in keeping their areas pleasant, safe and dog poo free, to educate children - the dog owners of tomorrow – on responsible dog ownership, and to remind everyone to always 'bag it and bin it'."

Dogs Trust has encouraged schools to develop posters illustrating the 'bag it, bin it' message. The posters aim to channel pupils artistic skills to make a poster deterring dog owners from ignoring their dog's waste and encouraging all dog owners to 'bag it and bin it'. The winning poster will be shared online and the chosen artist will be awarded with Dogs Trust goodies. All schools will also receive The Big Scoop leaflets, posters, capes, poo bags and rosettes to get young people behind the campaign.

Any bin will do

Although the majority of dog owners pick up after their dogs, some regular poop scoopers admit that there have been occasions when they've failed to scoop the poop of their own dog, despite knowing the implications of dog fouling in their local community. This may be due to a lack of a suitable bin because some people think that dog poo can only be disposed of in special dog waste bins. According to findings from Keep Britain Tidy, emptying a specialised dog waste bin can cost councils twice as much as emptying a general one. This finding suggests that dog owners in the UK need to be made more aware of the fact any bin can be used to dispose of dog poo.