The Arona Council launched a new campaign yesterday (Wednesday), titled “Arona is Your Home: Pick Up Your Dog’s Poop”, which aims to raise awareness among pet owners about their responsibilities and the importance of keeping the municipality clean.
The campaign was unveiled on World Environment Day, at the Plaza del Cristo de la Salud in Arona. The event was attended by Mayor Fátima Lemes and the Councillor for Sustainability and Public Services, Clari Pérez, who showcased various publicity materials associated with the campaign, including banners, totems, and posters.
The campaign to encourage the collection of dog waste will be rolled out across the municipality of Arona in the south of Tenerife starting this week and will continue over the coming months.
A prominent five-metre-long banner featuring the campaign’s slogan will be displayed on the metal bridge on Avenida Chayofita in Los Cristianos, near the Jesús Domínguez Grillo Sports Complex. This banner will also be displayed in other key locations within Arona to maximise visibility.
Campaign posters will be placed in all 34 playgrounds across the municipality, providing information on the waste generated by pets in urban areas and the importance of picking up after them.
These excrements not only tarnish the image of the area but also complicate street cleaning efforts and cause numerous inconveniences to residents, precisely what this project aims to prevent. Unlike the banner, which will move locations, these signs will remain permanently installed.
In addition, the campaign features three visually striking totems that explicitly reference the campaign’s slogan and are inspired by the recognizable logo of the messaging service WhatsApp. These totems will also have prominent placements in various neighbourhoods, including Arona Casco, Valle San Lorenzo, La Camella, Buzanada, Cho-Parque La Reina, Guaza, El Fraile, Las Galletas, El Palma Mar, Los Cristianos, and Playa de Las Américas.
Clari Pérez, the head of the Department of Environment and Sustainability, emphasised the need for a collective effort to make Arona a benchmark for cleanliness. According to Pérez, citizen participation is crucial as "this is a problem for everyone, damaging our municipality and impoverishing our areas."
Pérez also highlighted the necessity of such awareness campaigns to educate the public. She acknowledged that "the vast majority of people are clean, and it’s true that the innocent should not be punished for the actions of a few. However, it is essential to identify the offenders, penalise them, and set precedents that foster respect among the citizenry."
She also warned that fines for such infractions range from €500 for first-time offenders to €10,000 for repeat offenders.
