Introduction
During the first year of University I lived in a area close to Nottingham city centre, and to get to the design studios I had to walk through an area of dense terraced housing. Dog fouling tended a problem to the extent that you had to make sure you kept a keen eye on the pavement ahead of you and be prepared to quickly side step or you could almost guarantee to have some on your shoe at the end of the day. Coincidently, at that time the local paper had picked up that this was a problem across the whole city and that the council had recognised that this was a big problem and were to clamp down on offenders in an attempt to clean up.
It was after one misplaced foot too many that I was prompted to design a device that could be given to dog owners to encourage them to remove dog waste, to compliment the threat of heavy fines (a carrot and a stick). After some experimentation I refined the design of the Pik-a-Poop.
I was prompted to submit my design to Nottingham Council following a competion in the local paper run by a new working group within the Council. It called for entrants to propose ways in which the local community and environment could be improved. I think they were seeking ways to improve the relationships between the different cultural and ethnic communites but I was undeterred and made my point about dog mess. In the covering letter I reminded the reader of the health risks, especially to children, of the diseases and infections (which cause illness and even blindness) carried by dog foul.
The design
Inspired by the generic pizza box the design, the Pik-a-Poop is simply a pair of hinged cardboard jaws (folded from a single 'net') that is held in one hand and clamped around an offending dog do-do, allowing it to be picked up. The jaws are first lined with a plastic carrier bag, which most supermarkets are keen to give away free. Once the turd has been picked up, the carrier bag is pulled from the cardboard jaws and disposed of.
Cardboard was as suitable material because as a local promotional tool, it would have only been necessary to produce a small limited run, less than the minimum normally considered viable from injection moulding. Pet shops sell similar products made from injection moulded plastics, so when the 'free' Pik-a-Poop had 'worn out' through use then perhaps owners would be encouraged to spend a few pounds on a more permanent item.
It is simpler to just put your hand in a plastic carrier bag and pick up the waste, and then turn the bag inside out, but I suspect for many city dog owners this is too disgusting (better to leave it on pavements for you to unwittingly tred into your carpet!).
As single 'net' the design could even be printed in a local news paper, for people to paste onto and cut out from an old breakfast cereal box.
The Pik-a-Poop can be kept in a carrier with spare bags, to be taken out and used when needed. It can then be stored in the bag, hung next to the dog lead so that it isn't forgotten on the next walk.
Conclusion
About a year after submitting the design I caught the end of a local news article reporting that the Council had given away some devices, which appeared to be a plastic bag with an injection moulded plastic attachment. I like to think that perhaps I did indirectly influence the Council into taking some sort of pro-action!
