Sun, sand … and dog shit. The three are often unfortunately connected on Danish beaches in the summertime. Dogs are generally welcome, and owners often let them roam free. And they often do what dogs do whilst wandering.
A group of volunteers have taken it upon themselves to clean up the Bremdal beach in Struer in Jutland. They hit the beach on Saturday and Sunday mornings with plastic bags while wearing rubber gloves and collect the dog turds and other rubbish. This is in addition to the weekly cleaning done by the municipality.
“We started four years ago because we had problems with dog owners who forgot to pick up their dog’s droppings,” Ib Randrup Nielsen, a board member of the citizens’ group Bremdal Borger og Grundejerforening, told DR Nyheder.
Clean up after your dog!
The Bremdal beach is a popular picnic spot, also for the local kindergarten. Parents complained that their kids come home from a day at the beach with more than sand on their shoes.
“This is a problem that crops up every year when the bathing season starts,” said Nielsen. “The problem will probably never be resolved, because some people do not show responsibility when airing their dog.”
The association has also set up kiosks with collection bags on the beach.
