A 13-year-old's free dog bag dispensers now number 11 across North Tyneside. At Marden Quarry Park they sit beside Whitley Bay volunteers clearing and repairing the park.

Free dog waste bags are now on offer at Marden Quarry Park, thanks to a 13-year-old’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award project. His bright pink dispensers sit alongside a group of residents who have been clearing and repairing the park with the council’s warden.

North Tyneside Council announced the work on 5 November.

What the volunteers have been doing

Whitley Bay residents have been working with park warden Jess Dickinson, in all weathers, the council said. Their jobs so far have included:

  • clearing the park’s entrances
  • cutting back overgrown vegetation
  • repairing signs and fences

The pink dispensers

The bag scheme is called Malina Patrol, after the family’s dog, Malina. Nikita Schofield set it up as voluntary work for his Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. With help from his mum, Anna, he designed the dispensers and makes them on a 3D printer. Each one holds free bags for dog owners who have come out without one.

It has grown to 11 dispensers across parks and coastal areas in North Tyneside, the council said. The scheme’s own website counts more than 5,200 bags supplied and more than 180 refills recorded. It also says more than 25 requests for new locations have come in.

“This was my first time volunteering and I’ve really enjoyed it,” Nikita said. “I didn’t realise how much work goes into creating something from scratch, so it’s been great to get so much positive feedback from people.”

He added that he would like to grow the idea into something bigger.

Councillor Hannah Johnson, the council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said the volunteers “put a lot of care into looking after this much-loved green space”. She said the dispensers were “another practical way they’re helping keep it clean and welcoming”.

What it means for you

  • If you walk a dog at Marden Quarry, there is now a free bag dispenser at the park. The Malina Patrol website has a map of every station.
  • If a dispenser is empty, the website has a form to report it, so it can be refilled.
  • If you know a spot that needs one, the same site takes suggestions for new locations.
  • If you would like to help at the park, the council asks volunteers to email the warden at jessica.dickinson@northtyneside.gov.uk.

For other things to do nearby, see our things to do in Whitley Bay page.