The Bag It, Bin It, Campaign!
The successful three-month campaign has now ended but the work will continue to be a high-priority focus with Enveco’s teams.
In October 2023, with the support of the Blackpool Council, Enveco launched its first behavior change campaign to reduce dog fouling within the town. The campaign consisted of dog walker engagements and a monthly competition, which allowed the 3 winners to win a month’s supply of dog food; 875 Bag It, Bin It street stencils were sprayed throughout the town to encourage dog walkers to do the right thing; Bag It, Bin It, posters were placed on litter bins throughout the town and on Enveco’s company vehicles.
The campaign was driven by the operational workforce teams, engagement events, and school education programs; In addition, Blackpool Council’s dog warden, and Councillor Paula Burdess – the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Street Scene, and Neighbourhoods; delivered school talks on responsible dog ownership.
At the end of January 2024, the campaign came to an end, revealing that 99.32% of the 584 dog walkers Enveco’s staff engaged with, had the means to pick up, and/or were seen doing so. During the 3 months, only 3 dog owners were issued with an FPN for failing to remove dog fouling, highlighting the difficulty of witnessing such offences.
Elements of the campaign have ended; however, the work will continue to be a high-priority focus with our teams, and residents can still apply for dog stencils outside their properties. Enveco is preparing to launch a new campaign that encourages everyone to keep the town clean. The campaign will have a focus on encouraging residents and visitors to use litter bins, along with raising awareness of enforcement measures that will be available to authorized officers when witnessing environmental offences.
Overall the Bag It, Bin It campaign was a big success outlining that there are many responsible dog walkers within the town. The campaign and competition highlighted the anti-social elements of irresponsible dog owners, whilst positively rewarding those caught doing it right.
Bag It, Bin It competition winners:
November’s winner was Amy Butlin-Evans of Bispham, whose dad, Rodger was walking her Cavapoochon, Hudson near the pond trail and was witnessed having the means to pick up. Amy, Hudson, and Rodger were invited to the Depot to meet Enveco’s Operations Director, Jez Evans, and Enveco’s Street cleaning manager, Craig Burns. The Bispham residents expressed their gratitude for the campaign and were over the moon with the work Enveco does to Keep Blackpool Tidy.
December’s winner was Bernadette Jardine of South Shore with her beautiful 6-month Cavapoo called Coco. The pair were witnessed having the means to pick up near the Blackpool airport. Bernadette was pleased to see a focus on such a key issue and said it’s hard to understand why some walkers pick up but then leave the dog foul in the bag on the floor. Like the previous winners, Bernadette and Coco were invited to meet with Jez Evans and stated it was nice to see a company doing something about the issue whilst praising those who do the right thing. The competition allowed the winner to have a month’s supply of dog food up to a certain amount. However, Bernadette decided to donate her winnings to the RSPCA for animals in need.
January’s winner was Jordan Owen of Central Blackpool. Jordan’s 13-year-old Jack Russell cross, Alfie, was being walked by his father, Taff. The pair were spotted by one of Enveco’s street cleansing team while Taff was picking up after Alfie. Taff was invited to the Depot to meet with Enveco’s Deputy Managing Director, Paul Whitehead, to collect Alfie’s prize. Taff was pleased to see a company doing something about the dog Fouling issue within the town and stated he doesn’t understand why people don’t pick up after their dogs.
How YOU Can #Getinvolved
If you are a dog walker, please pick up after your dog and ensure you have the means to pick up.
Often the autumn and winter nights divert dog owners to exercise their dogs closer to home, through residential streets, so if you don’t pass a bin please take it home or change your routes.
If you find a lot of dog fouling in your area request a dog stencil to encourage dog walkers to do the right thing using the below form, or you can report dog fouling using this link!