Pet Waste Outreach Campaigns

Jill-

We on the Monterey Peninsula have a very successful Pet Waste campaign going with our Stormwater Outreach and Education program. We have pet waste bag dispensers all along our recreational trails and along our beaches, we have Dog Doo TV PSAs that we air throughout the year, we have radio ads, and we also have "Dog Doodads" that are stick-on buttons that you can place along the sidewalk or on signs around parks and public areas. If you want more information, please let me know. heidi@mrwpca.com

Heidi Niggemeyer
United States

Hi, Jill -

I've been working on a program in Clark County called Canines for Clean Water (www.CleanWaterDogs.com), and while it's been successful from an outreach standpoint we have yet to prove any significant difference in actual pet waste picked up. The same goes for most of the campaigns I came across while doing research for this program. The only one I came across which posted concrete results was this one in England: http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/Campaigns/pastcampaigns/dogfouling/Default.aspx.

My hunch is that American campaigns like to maintain the sense of urgency in order to motivate people, rather than letting them think the problem's been fixed. If you get in touch with anyone with results to share, please let me know - we're still trying to figure out the best way to evaluate the results of our program!
-Elena

Elena Cronin
Clark County Clean Water Program
United States

Check out the TAPP (Think About Personal Pollution) program in Tallahassee, Florida at http://www.tappwater.org/. They have a great TV ad campaign.
Laurie

Laurie Tenace
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
United States

In New Hampshire we desgind and implemented a watershed-based pet waste program using CBSM in a small watersehd in Dover NH that identified pet waste as a pollution source through Microbial Source Tracking water quality monitoring. A guidence document and more information is on our website at:
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/coastal/scoop_the_poop.htm
The next phases of the program include additional evaluation of pre and post pet waste pile counts by volunteers. Contact me for more information at barbara.mcmillan@des.nh.gov

Barbara McMillan
Watershed Outreach Coordinator
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
United States