The Dundee branch of the Marine Conservation Society has raised concerns over the amount of dog faeces and rubbish picked up during a beach clean.
Volunteers cleared away over 500 items of litter, including a gas bottle, on the stretch between Broughty Ferry Rock Garden and Balmossie pumping station – amounting to a piece of litter at every step.
Doug McLaren, who organised the beach clean, said that there had been some confusion over the labelling of dog waste bins in the area.
He said: “On our annual beach clean, we had 15 volunteers turn up.
“We cleaned a stretch of 400 metres and the litter count was around 500 items – that’s a piece of litter with every pace.
“The issue we want to emphasise is the amount of dog litter.
“Eight per cent of the litter was dog poo, which was the highest percentage we’ve ever had.
“There is confusion around the labelling of bins in the area, with Angus Council clearly accepting dog litter in the normal waste bins – but Dundee’s bins don’t offer this option.
“On the plus side, there was less sewage waste than usual.”
Over half of the rubbish (54%) came from members of the public, 4.5% attributed to sewage and 2.8% caused by shipping.
The majority of items dumped were made of plastic (59%), followed by paper and cardboard (14.3%), metal (8.1%) and faeces (7.9%).
Broughty Ferry councillor Laurie Bidwell said: “As a dog owner, I think that it is our responsibility to clean up after our pets.
“There is a GPS map on the council’s website showing where you can find dog poo bins.
“We are open to suggestions about where dog poo bins should be located.
“I do get upset when I see that there are such bins in an area, and people have decided to dump their dog waste bags in flower beds or at the side of the road.”
