A SWEDISH company has declared its ambition to tackle dog fouling in Hampshire.

International waste specialists TiksPac, works with local authorities to install dog waste bag dispenser stations and specially designed bins in public areas.

The free bags encourage owners to clean up after their pets and are 100 per cent compostable and biodegradable.

Lynsey Alderson, of TiksPac, said: “It’s a major problem and one that takes up a lot of local authority time and money, as well as being a health hazard and very unpleasant. Numerous studies show that people are more likely to drop litter in areas where there are already high volumes of rubbish, including dog waste.

“Conversely, where litter levels are low, people are more likely to dispose of all types of waste responsibly.”

TiksPac already works with 340 local authorities in five European countries.

Currently dispensing over 22 million biodegradable bags annually, across 7,000 stations.

As well as reducing dog fouling the biodegradable bags also help reduce single use plastic.

The company has embarked on a series of pilots in the UK with councils including Fife, Richmond and Surrey Heath.

A survey of these councils has shown that where TiksPac stations are installed there’s an average decrease in dog fouling complaints of 56.8 per cent and a 49.4 per cent decrease in overall littering in the same areas.

The idea for TiksPac came about when its founder, Stig-Arne Mårtensson, was walking his dog and was shocked to discover how many people were not picking up after their pets, creating a negative impression of his home town in Sweden.

The stations can be located anywhere there is a problem with dog fouling.

They are made from steel with an anti-graffiti coating for easy cleaning.