Fecal Flags: A Global Standard For Combating Doggie Doo Pollution

"Pile looking for its owner" Image credit:The Local, Germany's News In English

In Germany private citizens have been flagging dog droppings as a prank to embarrass dog owners into cleaning up their mess. Across the Atlantic, city workers officially mark the doo doo with fecal banners in Wilmington North Carolina's Halyburton Park, where the effort is designed to reduce the pollution impacts of the large volumes of dog waste which tends to accumulate in city parks. Diverting dog waste to the landfill is important because, left on the land, it gets carried into streams, ponds, and lakes by stormwater runoff, contaminating beaches with fecal coliform and stimulating algae growth.

StarNews Online carried the Carolina story: Doggie deposits flagged in city clean water push, from which we include this excerpt:

...city officials are trying a new tack to get pet owners to think a bit more before walking away from their dog's leftovers.

The social marketing campaign is using both the carrot and the stick to try and get a targeted audience, in this case pet owners, to voluntarily change their behavior for a community benefit.

Butler said along with the eye-catching flags, they also are displaying a map of the park in the education center marked with all of the uncollected waste. A "Canines for Clean Water" pledge by pet owners also gets their best friend a doggie bandanna, treats and a chance to have their pooch's picture featured on the department's Web page.

And if that doesn't work?

Well, City Council recently passed a big stick in the form of a $250 fine for pet owners who leave their dog's waste dropped in a public spot, which includes sidewalks.