SOUTHEND’S dog waste bins are to be replaced with ordinary litter bids in a bid to save £50,000 a year for the cash-strapped council.

The proposal, included in the council’s draft budget which will be discussed by cabinet tomorrow, said: “Dog waste from dog bins must be disposed of as contaminated waste, whereas waste from a litter bin is treated as residual waste.

"Dog waste can be included in residual waste much like it is by households and the same applies to public litter bins. 

“This proposed change would result in both a reduction in waste collection costs and waste disposal costs. All dog waste bins across the city will be replaced by a new litter bin if one is not already installed near that location.”

Carole Mulroney, councillor responsible for environment, said: “Dog bins are mainly in parks and opens spaces. We don’t have them in residential streets.

“It should be commonly known, but I don’t think it is, that it’s quite OK to put dog bags into a normal waste bin.

“The dog bins require a separate collection which makes it more expensive so what we are going to do is where there is a dog bin coming out and there isn’t another bin there we will put a new bin in.

"Anything that goes in those bins still has to be separated anyway because people put the wrong thing in the wrong bins.”