Tuesday, March 7th, 2006:
Dog poop disposal in Helsingborg
What I think:
Ever since I moved here, I've been impressed by the absence of dog turds on the pavements (US/CAN: sidewalks) or other public walkways in Helsingborg.
In general, people here tend to walk around armed with little black plastic bags, ready to grab any droppings that may plop out from their beloveds' tongueless ends. And in most places, there are bins to accommodate such laboriously-produced offerings. And most people will dutifully place the aromatic produce into these receptacles.
Don't get me wrong; one can still have an occasional laugh at a stilettoed nineteen year-old deeper-than-rouge-faced Friday-night girl, cursing at a rogue doggy-poop that has somehow placed itself beneath her daintily-shod and painstakingly-painted toes (with a most satisfying squish, I'm happy to add). Ahh, squishy-bliss.
But these momentous occasions are few and - alas - 'mush' too far between.
So, all in all, an impressively dog-poop-free environment. Or is it? Could there perhaps be a hidden poop-culture right here in Helsingborg? I'm here to tell you that there may well be.
One day last year, I noticed something on my walk to work (I notice lots of things on my walk to work, don't I? I'm starting to wish that I'd been this observant at school). There's a couple of little adjoining tunnels that go beneath a main road and Helsingborg's main railway line. On one side, between these tunnels, on a kind of up-sloping paved bank, I spotted a few small black plastic bags containing - something. I didn't bother to stop and investigate, because I suspected that they probably contained dog poo. I remember finding it vaguely amusing, but just shrugged, and carried on walking.
The next day, or perhaps a couple of days later, I happened to glance in that direction again, and noticed that these bags had multiplied considerably. This was getting weird.
I started thinking about it. Most places where people would normally walk dogs have nice bins for the disposal of dog poo bags. But this area does not.
It's considered terribly uncouth and rude to let your dog crap anywhere they like and just leave it there, so people will go through the motions of picking up their doggy-done-deeds and, realising that there are no bins in the immediate vicinity for instant disposal, and seeing a load of discarded bags similar to the ones they're holding, they'll simply chuck their personal canine contributions onto the pile. Sorted and forgotten.
Consequently, within the space of just a few days, I'm walking past a huge reeking heap of bagged dog turds to brighten up my journey to work. What a refreshing way to start the day.
I think it's good that the people of Helsingborg are considerate enough to refrain from leaving their pets' poops on the pavements, but there should be enough bins in populated areas in which these bundles of relief can be disposed of as hygienically as possible.
It's time that the Swedish government did something about it. That's what I think.
Ever since I moved here, I've been impressed by the absence of dog turds on the pavements (US/CAN: sidewalks) or other public walkways in Helsingborg.
In general, people here tend to walk around armed with little black plastic bags, ready to grab any droppings that may plop out from their beloveds' tongueless ends. And in most places, there are bins to accommodate such laboriously-produced offerings. And most people will dutifully place the aromatic produce into these receptacles.
Don't get me wrong; one can still have an occasional laugh at a stilettoed nineteen year-old deeper-than-rouge-faced Friday-night girl, cursing at a rogue doggy-poop that has somehow placed itself beneath her daintily-shod and painstakingly-painted toes (with a most satisfying squish, I'm happy to add). Ahh, squishy-bliss.
But these momentous occasions are few and - alas - 'mush' too far between.
So, all in all, an impressively dog-poop-free environment. Or is it? Could there perhaps be a hidden poop-culture right here in Helsingborg? I'm here to tell you that there may well be.
One day last year, I noticed something on my walk to work (I notice lots of things on my walk to work, don't I? I'm starting to wish that I'd been this observant at school). There's a couple of little adjoining tunnels that go beneath a main road and Helsingborg's main railway line. On one side, between these tunnels, on a kind of up-sloping paved bank, I spotted a few small black plastic bags containing - something. I didn't bother to stop and investigate, because I suspected that they probably contained dog poo. I remember finding it vaguely amusing, but just shrugged, and carried on walking.
The next day, or perhaps a couple of days later, I happened to glance in that direction again, and noticed that these bags had multiplied considerably. This was getting weird.
I started thinking about it. Most places where people would normally walk dogs have nice bins for the disposal of dog poo bags. But this area does not.
It's considered terribly uncouth and rude to let your dog crap anywhere they like and just leave it there, so people will go through the motions of picking up their doggy-done-deeds and, realising that there are no bins in the immediate vicinity for instant disposal, and seeing a load of discarded bags similar to the ones they're holding, they'll simply chuck their personal canine contributions onto the pile. Sorted and forgotten.
Consequently, within the space of just a few days, I'm walking past a huge reeking heap of bagged dog turds to brighten up my journey to work. What a refreshing way to start the day.
I think it's good that the people of Helsingborg are considerate enough to refrain from leaving their pets' poops on the pavements, but there should be enough bins in populated areas in which these bundles of relief can be disposed of as hygienically as possible.
It's time that the Swedish government did something about it. That's what I think.
posted by Mark Base at 8:17 pm
1 Comments:
I think the poopy is breeding.
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