Comments on: easy green pet solution: a dog poop composter!

By: Tracey

Tracey — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:37:42 +0000

I think this is a wonderful idea! Please, please don’t allow the negative people (there will be some on every group, webpage, etc) to ruin what is a much better idea then throwing our plastic bags filled with dog waste into land fills. I will bet a hundred bucks you can find “links and proof” to almost every opinion out there. Do me a favor, just use common sense. I’m not saying people shouldn’t have their own opinion, just don’t leave neg comments. If you don’t like the idea, THEN DON’T HAVE A PET COMPOST IN YOUR YARD. Simple as that. I will be showing my husband these directions as we were just discussing building our own. We have 2 huge rotties and a decent size yard. I don’t intend to build it in my kid’s sandbox. Like I said, common sense, put in an area that is out of the way.

By: shelterrific » Blog Archive » want it now: robotic pet poop composter!

shelterrific » Blog Archive » want it now: robotic pet poop composter! — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:33:38 +0000

[...] year, I was excited about our DIY dog poop composter, but that excitement waned once I started reading the comments and their links to all the negatives [...]

By: 5BigDoggies

5BigDoggies — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:25:40 +0000

hi! Just a note these work very well, but if there is a pet with lots of fur…(sorry, to be gross, but it does get in the poop…), the fur will eventually stop up the drainage holes. We live in a warm area with lots of bugs and covering several large “deposits” with a wet layer of newspaper cuts down on stinkiness and the little gnats that somehow manage to get in there. Pouring water in the cotainer will also speed the breakdown process and encourages more worm activity. We never spread ours anywhere as it naturally breaks down faster than we could fill it. I imagine we will fill it one day, but we will probably just cover it up with topsoil, plant a tree there and more to our “drop spot” to another location.

By: L

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:10:33 +0000

Thank you for this. We have two big dogs and live in an area where it’s commonplace to leave doggie poo in the yard. This seemed a better solution. My husband made a lid for it that is almost flush with the ground–a round piece of plywood hinged in the middle, the back half screwed into the trash can to hold it in place.

By: karen

karen — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 01:44:38 +0000

following on what james had to say: i, too, have read studies that say that composting pet doo is not a good idea. matter of fact, i keep searching for one that says it *is.* examples follow.

http://www.ecocycle.org/askeco-cycle/2005/0701.cfm
Composting pet waste in the backyard may seem like a good idea but according to compost experts at the CSU Cooperative Extension, the pathogens and parasites within the waste are not properly treated or removed under most compost conditions. They strongly advise that pet waste should never be placed in your home compost bin or directly on your landscape.

http://mailman.cloudnet.com/pipermail/compost/2004-November/012659.html
… We took a sample of this one-year old soil-looking material and had it tested at BioVir Laboratories, Inc for Helminth Ova Assay, Salmonella Assay, Fecal Coliform Assay and Total Solids Assay. We then allowed the material to sit for another 6 months and tested it again, hoping time and microbial competition would bring the material into the “safe” level. It didn’t.

many, many, MANY more. http://www.google.com/search?q=composting+pet+waste&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

By: Vivian

Vivian — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:04:24 +0000

I flush my dog’s poops down the toilet with a flushable dog poop bag. Most eco-friendly way to get rid of poops.

There are flushable dog poop bags. The best answer probably because dog poop can get treated just as your poop is. Throwing dog poops into the trash overcrowds our landfills and pollutes our water system.

FlushDoggy.com offers FREE SAMPLE TO TRY !

By: Mary T

Mary T — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:23:40 +0000

James, could you provide a link or a cite please?

By: James

James — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:44:44 +0000

Hi Mary,

Actually, all of the more formal studies I’ve been reading about say this is a really terrible health idea. I don’t think the popularity of the practice has anything to do with how safe it is. I don’t think most home and garden groups have a staff microbiologist. It seems like a good idea on the surface, but it just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

By: Mary T

Mary T — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:57:40 +0000

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t think they’d be getting so popular nor sold in stores if they posed more of a health risk than one’s dog “going” outside to begin with. Thanks for weighing in.

By: Mary T

Mary T — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:53:00 +0000

Actually, korinthe, according to Seattle’s Earthworm Design, who supplied the flier that we used as a guide, while “leaving fecal mattter on the gorund can spread E.coli, salmonella, and giardia….When rain washes away unattended waste, it enters the drainage system…., [Composting pet waste] Turns waste into fertilizer; the enzymes in the septic starter breaks down fecal matter which disperses underground….”