It’s recommended that you use a separate backyard composter if you're prepared to invest the time (and supplies) in properly composting your dog's poo. We want to emphasize that you should not toss Max’s poop in your regular compost pile because it likely doesn’t maintain high heat long enough to kill the pathogens. Pet waste is compostable, but it needs special treatment. If you have the benefit of a backyard, you have two options that are far more environmentally friendly than throwing dog feces in the garbage. Some companies sell bags made from only a small percentage of recycled plastic, such as 20% or 30%, but a more in-depth online search will allow you to find pet waste bags made from 90% or 100% recycled materials. If you live in an apartment building and do not have access to a private backyard, using bags made of recycled content is a better option – even though they are destined for the landfill, this alternative supports the recycling market and does not use virgin plastic. Most biodegradable and compostable plastics are bioplastics – check out our article on the topic of bioplastics where we explain in more detail why these materials require very specific conditions for degradation to happen. Plastic bags are a major source of waste and do not decompose in landfills however, even if you are using biodegradable bags, they will not decompose in a landfill site – biobags must be broken down by industrial composters otherwise they will have the same long-life expectancy as their plastic counterparts. Unfortunately, the majority of pet poop ends up in the trash, which means that all those plastic bags used to collect it end up in a landfill. Due to public health concerns, pet poop cannot be composted with regular food items, therefore we do not accept this type of waste in our Compostable bin. “Imagine if they started doing this in Central Park,” said Bruce Stoff, the communications manager for the Ithaca/Tompkins Convention and Visitors Bureau, in an e-mail message.As you pick up your pet's waste, you may wonder, "What’s the most eco-friendly way to dispose of this?" If you are a Compostable LA member, we’re sorry to say that you cannot compost it with us. With the enthusiasm their project has generated. So far, the Ithaca compost organizers are delighted Kochian, who said that more than enough money for the first year has already been raised in donations. The Ithaca program costs roughly $6,000 a year, according to Mr. A similar program is in place in the large Pacific Spirit Regional Park in Vancouver,Īnd an experimental program is also under way at a dog park in Montreal, where the compost is processed The Ithaca group believes that theirs is the first such dog composting park in the nation, though it is not certain. If the compost is of poorer quality, it couldīe used for blending with topsoil, he said. If it matures into nutrient-rich compost, it might be applied to potted plants or landscaping, said Mark Whittig, Cayuga’s operations manager. Late next year, Cayuga plans to run tests to determine the composition of the dog waste (after all, a dog’s diet is arguably more varied than virtually any other animal’s, in accordance with the whims Near the park’s entrances, which are removed once a week by a company called Cayuga Compost.Īt its composting facility, Cayuga dumps the waste into a pile - mixed with a bit of yard and wood waste - quite separate from the company’s regular food-waste compost.Īnd there it will sit - until the company figures out what it might be good for. Dog owners put the bag and its contents into large bins Special corn-based bags, made by the Biobag Company, based in Florida, are available at several stations in the park. Treman Marine State Park - became a dog waste composting park. Kochian’s nudging, one of the city’s dog parks - part of the Allan H. There’s got to be a more environmentally sensible Leon Kochian, a professor of plant biology at Cornell and, more to the point, the owner of a yellow lab, recalled the thinking at the time: “This is Ithaca. Several years ago, dog owners in the college town of Ithaca, N.Y., began worrying about all the plastic bags filled with dung that ended up in the landfill. Cayuga Compost Dog owners of Ithaca can now contribute to an environmental experiment: dog waste composting.
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