Dog poo concern as bins to be removed from forest

Forestry England is planning on removing bins from Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire

Plans to remove bins from an outdoor area in Nottinghamshire have faced criticism from some visitors who said it was not "human nature" to carry a bag of dog poo home.

Forestry England, who operates the Sherwood Pines site, said the removal of bins was the "right thing" for the environment and suggested visitors could take dog waste home in an old ice cream tub.

Jason Maclean, from Forestry England said: "We believe that this approach will help better preserve the forest, but it is also better for waste management and recycling."

However, some visitors were critical of the idea, and described the move to remove bins as "very strange".

One visitor to the site, Steven Williams, told the BBC that people would want to dispose of dog mess in "some way".

The 56-year-old from Codnor Park said: "Human nature is not to carry a bag of dog poo around with you all day.

"The thought of people taking that home in their cars or their camper vans, it's not going to happen - that's going to be abandoned."

Steven said it was not "human nature" to carry dog poo around "all day"

Forestry England suggested visitors bring scented bags, purpose-built pouches or old ice cream tubs and dispose of the dog waste when they get home.

Mr Maclean said: "The vast majority of people are responsible and we hope the responsible dog walkers continue to enjoy our woodlands but maybe plan ahead so that they bring a bag with them to take their dog poo home."

Forestry England said in a social media post litter bins could often cause "problems" and called on people to bring a bag and take litter home with them.

The measure - which is part of a nationwide initiative - would allow the body to redirect "limited time and resources into keeping the nation's forests thriving", Forestry England added.

It said: "They often overflow faster than we can empty them, and they attract wildlife, spreading litter and harming animals."

Alex Dunderdale from Warwickshire agreed with the idea and said: "There's nothing worse than seeing overloaded bins. It encourages flies and wasps and people have got to be more responsible for their own litter."

However, the 56-year-old added dog waste was a "whole different ball game" and said Forestry England should provide bins for people to get rid of the mess.

Yvonne Taylor, who lives in Tenerife, said: "I don't think I've got enough faith in human nature to think that people would take all the litter home rather than use the bins, but it's a nice ideal."

Alex Dunderdale (left) and Yvonne Taylor (right) have told their thoughts over the plans

Mr Maclean said Forestry England had recently invested "heavily" in things such as play areas and changing facilities.

"We think and hope that our visitors would agree that being able to do these types of things is a much better way of using our limited resources on site, than spending a lot of time and resources in dealing with waste and litter," he said.

"We very much hope that people can buy into that idea and support us by taking their litter home with them."

Alex Dunderdale has said people have to be "responsible" for their own litter