New Ground: Small Steps to a Sustainable Environment

Piles of Poo

Last October we brought home an Airedale puppy, Bailey. We researched dog breeds to be sure our puppy had the right temperament, the right health requirements, and that he would grow to the right sized dog. One thing we didn’t research is how quickly the poo piles up from one dog.

According to the USDA, the EPA estimates that one dog can excrete 274 pounds of waste per year, depending on what and how much the dog eats. We think Bailey has already reached that limit!

Here’s the problem, our urban Minnesota home has very little lawn. While it’s easy to dispose of doggy poo during the day, it’s hard to see it at night and Minnesota winter is laced with icy cold temperatures and long, chilling nights! This year, it snowed early and a lot so Bailey’s poos were blanketed with snow. Then a few warm days melted the snow and ewwww! Our boulevard and small side yard went from snow white to brown with doggy poo!

Although some folks recommend digging a hole and burying doggy poo, the USDA cautions that dog waste can pollute ground water as well as surface water. Putting it in your garbage makes landfills a bigger health hazard than they already are and garbage collectors complain that poo bags burst and make a real mess of their trucks. What to do with the poo?

I’m an avid flower gardener so the first thing that came to mind is compost. I wondered if you can compost doggy poo. Well, yes you can. Even in the winter. In fact, composting the right way produces a safe soil amendment that destroys dog waste pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella. One word of caution though, the USDA warns that even composted dog waste should not be used on food crops or in areas where children frequently play.

There are several methods of composting doggy poo. A USDA pdf lists two of them along with all the facts need-to-know facts about doggy poo. Another from City Farmer gives a step-by-step picture tutorial on building an easy Dog Waste Composter.

Composting dog waste is just one more small step you can take towards a clean, safe, sustainable environment for yourself and all of us.