Bags of doggy doo dumped on Mississauga streets, councillor complains

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Published May 6, 2022 at 5:03 pm

Bags of doggy doo dumped on Mississauga streets, councillor complains

A Mississauga city councillor has noticed that while most people in her east-end community seem to be picking up after their dogs, many are then just dumping the bagged doggy doo onto the street or in parks.

Ward 3 Councillor Chris Fonseca said she noticed the stinky habit during several recent community cleanups in which she and a number of volunteers came across the poop-filled plastic bags on too many occasions.

In fact, the councillor noted, the poopy bags represented the majority of waste they picked up during the cleanups.

“People have asked me how we, as a council, can address” this issue, Fonseca told her colleagues and staff at an April 27 general committee meeting.

“What’s happening is that individuals are putting the dog waste in bags, but then they’re literally just dropping those plastic bags anywhere. It could be on a residential street or it could be within a park or in the trail system.”

Jodi Robillos, Mississaugas’s commissioner of community services, said one thing that might help is that more garbage bins are being moved back into parks with the onset of spring and summer.

“And we do have a substantial communication plan telling residents to take the (dog) waste to the next available container as opposed to just throwing it wherever it is. But we know that’s an issue,” she added.

Additionally, an ongoing pilot program in the city encourages dog owners to drop their four-legged pal’s poop into dog waste containers at select parks.

The City pilot project diverts dog waste from landfill sites and converts the waste to energy.

“A number of in-ground dog waste containers have been installed across City parks, including the Animal Services facility,” the City says in an online description of the initiative.

Dog waste containers can be found at the following locations:

  • Churchill Meadows Community Common
  • Community Common Park
  • Jack Darling Memorial Park
  • Lake Aquitaine Park
  • Lakeside Park Leash-free Zone
  • Quenippenon Meadows Leash-free Zone
  • Totoredaca Park Leash-free Zone

The in-ground concrete containers have been designed to hold dog waste for up to four weeks.

“Storing the waste below ground where it is cooler and out of direct sunlight reduces odour and means that the waste can be collected when the container is full,” the City says.

 

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