Since the ‘poopyhead’ thread shows that folks are okay talking about dog poo, let’s take this issue to a higher/the next level. Believe or not, the safe disposal of pet waste is a pretty big environmental problem, especially in densely populated areas, but there doesn’t seem to be an environmental policy on the safest way to manage it.
There are people researching and implementing programs on how to safely dispose of pet waste; in some cases, possibly turning it into a usable biofuel.
1) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-reese-halter/dog-poo-power-goes-global_b_1648239.html
‘Biogas’ Goes Global. A great read!
2) A home based method, which sounds fairly easy, is to purchase, a pet poo converter. This converter is for pet poo—no other compost materials outside of what the instructions recommend—which is some newspaper, sawdust, etc. [Supposedly], when the red worms digest the pet waste, any pathogens are removed and the worm castings can then be used in the garden—though it is recommended to not use it on edibles.
3) The ‘compostguy.com’ says: ‘I do in fact recommend setting up a completely separate system to handle these wastes – after all, why bag it up and send it off to the landfill when you can easily process it yourself and take advantage of the extra source of plant nutrients as well’, and he provides instructions on how to build one at your home.
4)There is a beach community that has two buried ‘dog poo converters’ that owners can put there dogs’ little ‘gifts’ into. Beach goers say it has made a huge difference!
http://gardencomposter.blogspot.com/2009/09/dog-poo-composter-dog-poo-wormery.html
http://compostmania.com/blog/dog-feces-cat-feces-caged-bird-feces/
So, what do folks think about these ideas and programs? Would you be willing to ‘safely’ compost you pets’ waste at home and keep it out of the land fill?
westseattleblog
West Seattle Blog
West Seattle Blog
