I love my pups. Aren't they adorable? That's Willy (my bichon frise) on the left and Jack (my miniature schnauzer) on the right. Since this project began, I'm frequently asked how I deal with pet waste. Believe it or not, this is a hot topic among dog owners; many dog owners reuse their plastic bags for cleaning-up their pet's waste.But not me. I don't want to use non-renewable resources for handling pet waste. (Remember, plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is originally made from crude oil and natural gas.) If we're going to use these non-renewable resources, shouldn't we use it for something more important than dog poo?
As an alternative, I use these Pooch Pick-Up bags instead. These poo bags are great because they're smaller than a plastic bag, making it less cumbersome to deal with. And most important, they're made from cornstarch, so the bags are biodegradable.
But here's the catch: At a recent compost seminar, I was advised not to compost my pet waste with my food scraps. So now what am I supposed to do? The solution is to create a compost pocket. This so-called "compost pocket" is basically a small hole for composting pet waste. I like this idea, but I'll have to ask my landlord if it's okay to dig a hole in her backyard for this purpose.
8 comments:
Aw, look at those cuties! I want to eat them up!
I'm going to hazard a guess that most landlords would be uncomfortable with you digging a hole for doggie doo doo in the back yard, unless they are quite progressive and you have a massive yard. I like the idea though.
Incidentally, what will you do with the compost you are making? Do you have a garden? What are you growing?
Chile Chews did that! Trash Talkin'
But yeah, I'm guessing your landlord won't go for it. Mine didn't seem too concerned with the idea of doing the worm compost thing - like No Impact Man does. But I just can't get over the worm thing. Slimy stuff gives me the heebie-jeebies.
So I emailed my landlord this morning. Here's her response:
"Go for it - somewhere behind those stumps by the fence maybe?"
Sweet!!! :0) I'm so happy to receive the good news. My landlord is awesome!
So I'm going to proceed with making this compost pocket. I have a funny feeling that I'll be blogging about this experience in the very near future!
Oh, and to answer your question, Experimentaholic, I have yet to see beautiful humus in my composter. I keep looking but there's not been any magic yet. And that's fine by me; I don't have a garden. I'll probably just give the compost to my landlord--she has a beautiful garden in her backyard.
And Meghan, thanks for posting the Trash Talkin' link!! I'm glad to know I'm not the only crazy person who's composting their dog poo!
:0)
M
Yea!!! I'm excited to read about the experience.
Thanks for the tip, I was next bloggin' around and found this post. I am going to be sure to buy the planet friendly bags next time I am out.
I think there is some parasite in dog poo that causes blindness. Cat poo is a no no too. If you use the compost from the poo pile, do not use it for growing food.
Those dogs are so cute. Thanks for the heads up about the bags.
Yes - definitely a "no-no" to put animal excrement in with the regular compost.
I've never thought of burying it all in a big hole - it is an option!
I put some of my cat and dog poo in the compost and some of it goes on the vege/fruit garden. It's a very challenging issue. I know I should dig a separate hole for it but it's tiresome!
I recycle plastic bags from other packaging at the moment for scooping when I'm out with the dogs.
I guess I'll have to find a new home for the dog poos (and I have much bigger dogs...)
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