Guelph might have a dog poop problem

Guelph just might have a dog poop problem.

It’s on the trails, it's in the parks, it’s hidden behind trees and fences and also chucked behind bushes.  

Bill Summers, a retired city resident who has taken it upon himself to clean up Guelph’s trails and parks for a few hours every morning last year and ended up with 400 bags of garbage bags in just six weeks with the most common item found being dog poop. 

Two weeks ago, Summers began clearing up along Guelph’s two rivers. On Friday morning, he hit a milestone, 100 bags of dog poo in Royal City Park on both sides of the Eramosa River. Twenty-five of those bags were just collected just that morning. An additional 38 were collected on Guelph Radial Line Trail.

“I don’t get it. I do not get it. It’s disgusting. It’s just disgusting,” said Summers who begins his journey at 7a.m. every morning for two to three hours a day with his garbage picker. 

“Last year was bad enough but when you see that much in that little park, you’re like what are people thinking?” 

He said sometimes when he sees it on a trail that's far away from a garbage bin, he can somewhat understand the unnecessary laziness that resulted in littering a bagged dog poop.

“But in cases like Royal City Park which has all types of garbage bins, why would you not walk 20 feet or whatever to put them in,” said Summers.

Summers said the dog poop that is found hidden in trees and in bushes indicates that residents are clearly putting in an effort to hide the bagged dog poop.

“To me it's just pure laziness. Pure laziness in the sense that there's the garbage bin. You cannot go an extra few feet to put it in. Why even collect it at all to start with? Why are you collecting and then promptly getting rid of it,” said Summers. 

Stacey Hare, communication officer at the City of Guelph said the city hears cries from residents about dog poop every spring.

“It’s gross. We hate it. It’s so rude,” said Hare. 

“It’s frustrating and disappointing to see this happen every year. Dog owners know what they’re supposed to do with dog poop. We encourage people to take responsibility.  Everyone has a role to play in caring for parks, trails and shared community spaces.”

She said while there are different mitigation strategies, ultimately it comes down to personal responsibility. 

“This is about being a decent human,” said Hare. 

Summers has now collected 80 bags of garbage in two weeks that also include beer bottles and cans, cups, lids, discarded clothing, plastic bags, plastic wrapping, cardboard and chunks of Styrofoam. 

“I have also picked up at least 15 chewed tennis balls. Seems like when Fido fails to fetch the ball the owner just leaves them,” said Summers. 

“I have now finished all of the Eramosa from Victoria to the confluence with the Speed, and most of the Speed from Riverside Park to the Hanlon,” said Summers who is now ready to clean up Victoria Road from Clair Road to the river. 

Last year when the pandemic hit, full garbage bins in parks were an issue due to a reduction in city staff working outdoors. However, overflowing garbage bins have not been an issue this year and people continue to litter.

On Friday morning alone, Summers filled five garbage bags with trash found in Royal City Park.