The Problem with Litter and Dog Fouling
Littering and dog fouling is unsightly, dangerous for public and environmental health and causes anti-social problems in local communities.Dog fouling in particular is a highly emotive issue and one which many local people are concerned about.
Managing Litter & Dog Fouling
The Council has a statutory duty to control litter and dog fouling on its land.
The Council, through its operational services team, manages the majority on the public realm on St Mary's. The public spaces, such as the Parade Park, Porthcressa and Holgate's Green and the public highways. The Council also has jursidiction above the high-tide line on Porthcressa beach.
The Council does not have jurisdication to manage litter and dog fouling on the off islands, but we work closely with our partners, the Duchy of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust and the community, to support litter control & dog fouling. For example, the Council hosts yacht waste bins on the off islands at key locations for visiting yachts.
The Council's Waste & Recycling team manages the day-to-day collection of the Council's litter, dog waste and yacht waste bins all year round on St Mary's. In the summer months the volume of on-the-go litter from visitors to the island's increases dramatically. The waste & recycling team are currently investing in new bin infrastructure through support from WRAP and bettering and in some places, increasing the supply of litter, recycling bins and dog waste bins on St Marys.
Reporting a Littering or Dog Fouling Problem
To report a problem with littering, or an overflowing bin please contact zerowaste@scilly.gov.uk or call 01720 424450 (voicemail only). If the littering is on our land, or there is a problem with a Council litter bin we will aim to deal with it as soon as possible. We will forward any littering issues on third party land to the owner/manager of that land.
Dog fouling is an issue all over the UK and we encourage the public to report incidences of dog fouling to the Council's Environmental Health team. There are Public Spaces Protection Orders in place as well as seasonal beach exlusions (1st May until September 30th) and permenant exclusion areas across the islands such as the MUGAs and Children's play parks. For more information visit the Environment Health- Dog Fouling section of this website.
Any Bin Will Do
When it comes to disposing of your dog's waste here in Scilly you can either take it back to your home or accommodation, if you are visiting the islands and make use of your own domestic bin. If you're out and about, please make use of one of the many litter bins you will find. We support and encourage 'ANY BIN WILL DO' and urge everyone to make use of any litter bin to safely contain bagged dog waste.
On-The-Go Recycling
On St Mary's the Council has a number of dual litter and recycling units aimed to capture on-the-go recycling primarily from visitors. Please make use of these for items you buy on-the-go such as drinks cans and bottles. These recycling bins are designed to capture relatively small amounts of material and so please do not overfill the units with recycling from your homes or holiday accommodation, instead please make use of the Council's or local hauliers collection services.
Beach Waste & Clean-Ups
The Council encourages everyone to pick up litter that maybe dropped or washed up on our shores to help protect the marine environment and to ensure that any litter is disposed of correctly. You can use any of the Council litter bin to dispose of this material. If you have an excessive amount please do not fill up a litter bin but instead please put the material in a bag, tie the bag up and place next to a bin. The waste collection team will collect it up then they service the litter bins.
The Council manages Porthcressa Beach above the high-tide mark please report any significant littering problems on the beach to the Council. All other beaches, except for Town Beach and Porthmellon which are managed by the Duchy of Cornwall and those on Tresco, which is privately run by Tresco Estate, are managed above the high-tide line by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, our local independent conservation charity. The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust often run local beach clean events across the islands. To find out more about the Trust's work and how you can support them please visit https://www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/.