West Seattle’s Poogooder invites you to join ‘Zero Poo Challenge’

| Environment | Neighborhoods | Pets | West Seattle news

Back in September, we told you about Poogooder, founded by West Seattleite Lori Kothe as a way to tackle the problem so many complain about … dog waste fouling sidewalks, planting strips, etc., and sparking un-neighborly spats. Lori says nearly 80 Poogooder disposal bins – each with its own volunteer steward – are now up in local neighborhoods. But that’s just a start toward ending the problem, so Lori’s announced the Zero Poo Challenge, and you have two ways to be part of it:

The Poogooder Zero Poo Challenge is a free, crowd-sourced education initiative to raise awareness of the social and environmental impacts of wayward dog poo and the small steps we can take to foster a happier, healthier community and planet. It involves 2 main activities open to the public: an all-ages PSA Art & Video Contest and a Wayward Poo Hunt. Participants can win prizes, fame, goodies from local businesses, and even trophies! Deadline to submit or vote for family-friendly PSA creations is June 12. The Wayward Poo Hunt citizen-science research project runs May 23 – June 12 and coincides with PAWSWalk. Poo Hunters will use the Pooper Snooper mobile app to “win” by finding real secret treasure tins hidden throughout West Seattle.

If you are a local business, educator, organization, or individual who would like to be involved in some way and/or donate to the prize packs, please submit a contact form at Poogooder.com. Let’s have fun, get the facts, and inspire change to do some good today. More info, Dog Poo 101 guide, PSA voting gallery, and entry details at zeropoo.com.

Jort May 21, 2021 (12:53 pm)

Does this program also include cat waste disposal? When taking my cat on a walk, I’d like to use these bins when he “does his business.”

WSB May 21, 2021 (1:38 pm)

Dog, cat, alligator, iguana, coyote, what4ver.
- Jort May 21, 2021 (5:40 pm)
  
  Wonderful. A pet coyote sounds kind of fun, doesn’t it?!?!?!?!

Zark00 May 21, 2021 (12:58 pm)

Yay Lori!! This is awesome!

BetteDavisEyes May 21, 2021 (1:24 pm)

Love this, and I see them getting frequent use, which appears to be corresponding with fewer sidewalk bombs and fewer randomly abandoned full “gift” baggies. How does one notify a bin steward if their bin is overflowing?

Poogooder May 21, 2021 (2:19 pm)

That’s a great question and an issue we’re working to address. One thing we’ve learned is that if the bin is full, people still keep adding more bags of poo to it, on top of it, or even next to it! That’s a message we’d like to also get out — that these are stewarded by kind residents, not a commercial pick-up service, so it takes all of us to keep them tidy and keeping our blocks beautiful. We are working on creating a co-steward network platform to help support the stewards, “balance the load”, and alert folks if a bin needs attention. Some bins can fill up even daily, which can put a lot of stress on one individual right now. In the meantime, if a bin needs attention, you can contact Poogooder via the Join form at poogooder.com (it goes directly to me and you can just put in a comment without “joining” ), or send a DM on Instagram @poogooder. I’ve added some features to our latest bins we just started rolling out that should help keep the lid from coming ajar and also to help the “tails” of the bags go all the way in the bin. We’re always looking for more volunteers and people with ideas and other ways to support the movement.Thanks!Lori
- BetteDavisEyes May 21, 2021 (4:45 pm)
  
  Thank you, Lori, for the response, for this program and for all you do!
- S.A. May 23, 2021 (4:19 pm)
  
  Perhaps each stop could have a QR code that would resolve to the email for the bin’s steward, so a person encountering an almost-full bin could give them a heads up? If the steward changed, the QR code could be edited to point elsewhere.

Poogooder May 21, 2021 (1:38 pm)

Thanks WSB and our wonderful West Seattle community! Please share with your friends and organize with your neighbors, and let’s get everyone walking, talking, and sharing their PSA creations to inspire small steps toward positive change.

Lori Kothe
Poogooder Founder

dogowner May 21, 2021 (3:33 pm)

I love this idea and I appreciate the stewards that volunteer!! I would like to volunteer too, but our small garbage bin is always full as it is. It would be great if the city could incentivize this program too as it keeps our sidewalks clear of dogpoo in our city.

Adam May 21, 2021 (9:30 pm)

I have a bin in front of my house and I used to ALWAYS step in stuff in the grass strip heading to my truck. It’s been MONTHS since I’ve had that issue. Also, you can see how grateful ppl are when they’re walking with a bag and finally have a place to drop it off. The bin has to be changed quite frequently because I live next to a park but I’m so happy to do it to keep the place clean. Easy fix to a city-wide problem.

Dan May 25, 2021 (11:19 pm)

I’ve used his service many times, have donated a couple times, but now I know it’s primarily a west Seattle thing, I’ll happily donate more. It’s so nice only carrying my dogs poop for half the walk, and it frees up my clients tiny garbage bin which is mostly dominated by newborn diapers.

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