THE messy issue of dog waste in Monmouthshire has been discussed at length by both county and town councils recently.

Chepstow Town Council councillors expressed concern at a meeting on 25th September that the amount of fly-tipped dog waste has increased "dramatically" since new regulations on recycling, enforced by county council, came into place earlier this year.

Town councillors claimed that some pet owners are now dumping carrier bags full of pet faeces around the red disposal bins and on the streets. There is also a growing problem with people picking up their dog's waste and leaving the bag on the verge or hanging in the hedgerows.

"We never had a problem before," said town clerk Sandra Bushell, "this has all started since the bag changes."

The town council estimates that emptying dog waste bins costs around £3,000 per year. The issue of overflowing bins and dumped carrier bags is now being reported to county council as fly tipping.

"We are having to organise emergency collections and so our costs have increased," said a spokesperson for the town council.

"The contractor who empties the 25 dog waste bins in Chepstow has a legal limit on tonnage as he takes the contents of the bins to a depot in Swindon.

"He is now reaching this legal limit and isn't able to keep up. The quicker we pick it up, the quicker people put it back again.It is causing us a huge problem."

Monmouthshire County Council is due to launch a publicity drive urging pet owners to put their animal's waste in their silver bags to be collected fortnightly.

All vegetarian domestic animal waste can be disposed of in food recycling bags. This includes rabbits, hamsters, mice and other herbivores.

A spokesman for Monmouthshire County Council denied that the changes have had an affect on fly tipping.

"Dog owners have always been able to put their animal's waste in their bin bags," he said.

"There is just a small minority of people who are deciding that there is now no room for it. However, if you are recycling properly, there will be room.

"Dog owners have a responsibility to dispose of their animal's waste safely and sensibly. Fly tipping is a crime, it's antisocial, and it's disgusting."

At the Monmouthshire County Council meeting on Thursday 26th September, Councillor Roger Harris submitted a motion to try to combat the dog waste issue by re-introducing dog wardens.

An amendment by Cllr Frances Taylor was made to the motion following discussions about implementation difficulties and budget constraints attached to hiring dog wardens.

Following the amendment of the motion and its subsequent passing, the cabinet will now consider measurements to reduce the impact of dog fouling.

Cllr Taylor said: "I'm not sure how effective dog wardens would be in Monmouthshire.

"Prosecuting someone would require the warden to witness the act or have enough information on the person to make a decision.

"Dog fouling causes a public health hazard and I agree we need to do something, although at this time I'm just not sure what."

Councillors all agreed that something should be done to tackle the issue.

Cllr Jessica Crook said: "There is only so much you can do and then it comes down to individual laziness.

"I do think there needs to be more done to tackle the issue and I am in favour of doing something."

Cllr Peter Farley said residents needed to be educated about the health implications of dog fouling and Cllr Linda Guppy believed they should promote positive action to combat negative action.