Hitting the fan: London council angers residents with removal of 700 dog-waste bins

Conservative-run Hillingdon aims to save £100,000 but local people fear dog poo will ‘be dumped everywhere’

People in a west London borough fear it will become covered in dog poo after their cash-strapped council decided to remove 700 dog-waste bins to save money.

“People are worried there’s going to be dog shit everywhere,” said Daniel O’Neill, the chief road steward at Ruislip Residents’ Association.

Hillingdon’s pet dogs produce about 174 tonnes of faeces each year, which, until now, has been generally bagged up by their owners and deposited in dog-waste bins.

The Conservative-run council believes it will save £100,000 in waste collection costs by removing the bins. It hopes dog owners will use general litter bins instead, but O’Neill and many other people are unconvinced.