A small village in Spain has come up with a neighborhood beautification plan that’s been incredibly successful, kind of creepy, and totally, totally gross. Brunete, the village, had a problem with dog poop — specifically, people were not picking it up. The village’s solution: Develop a task force to spy on offending dog owners, collect the poop, and deliver it back to the owners’ homes.

Inhabitat writes:

Reader support helps sustain our work. Donate today to keep our climate news free. All donations DOUBLED!

It may seem like a silly plan, but thus far Brunete’s dog poop watch has worked. City council organized volunteers scope out the offending owners, then casually strike up friendly conversations in order to pry sneaky information — like where they may live or offender’s names. The names are then looked up at the city council to find their addresses. The undercover poop patrol then give back what the dog owners had forgotten, delivering the poop to their homes and stating they are returning “lost property.”

At least it wasn’t in a flaming bag.

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

That sounds like one of the most fun jobs ever. You get to be sneaky, and yeah, you have to scoop poop, but just imagine the looks on people’s faces when you deliver it to their front door.