What's best for the planet - getting rid of dog poo?

[loveyouradvice]

Hi

Just that really

Do I dump it in bin in its biodegradable bag, but then it goes into landfill?

Flush it down the loo - and then I waste water?

Put into council food/garden waste bin - or is it not eligible?

Include in our own garden compost bin - but that doesn't feel right...

Or????

I live in town - I know country folk just leave out in the wild to biodegrade alongside everything else but not really an option in town!

Going into landfill is the same as leaving it out in the countryside surely? Landfill is not bad, not for things that biodegrade quickly anyway.

We flush down the loo at home. Water's not wasted if it's being used for disposing of sewage, surely. It's not like leaving a garden sprinkler running for 5 hours.

Thanks.... any other thoughts anyone?

Not having the dog in the first place is the most environmentally conscious option, I suppose.

Put it in a biodegradable bag and bin it if you're out. Flush it if you're at home (or leave it in the garden)

If you have a garden could you get a compostible bin?

I am not sure if this link will work...

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dog-Garden-Bin-Waste-Toilet-Poo-Disposal-Pet-Loo-Poop-Scooper-Collector-Trainer-/372744553414

@20fitzbilly
Going into landfill is the same as leaving it out in the countryside surely? Landfill is not bad, not for things that biodegrade quickly anyway.

Definitely not the same, as the poo in landfill is inside a plastic bag so can't biodegrade. Unless you put it there with your bare hands...

Bag and public bin when I'm out on a walk.

My back garden has a manhole cover for the main sewer. I throw garden poos down there. No water wasted as they get washed away next time someone in the street flushes the loo!

Fitz
You misunderstand I think? It’s biodegradable things like shit that should not be going into landfill.

I'm sure I read somewhere that you shouldn't flush dog poo down the loo...

From Thames water...

Our sewers and sewage treatment procedures are designed for human waste only. Animal waste decays differently to human waste. The conveyance of dog waste in the sewers, might not cause any damage to the fabric of the system, but for public health reasons we must ask you not to use our sewers for this purpose.

We know that dogs suffering from intestinal worms, transmit the eggs in their faeces. The eggs can survive sewage treatment and remain harmful to humans. Therefore, as a matter of policy, we don’t allow the disposal of dog or any animal waste into our sewerage system.

In the countryside kick into a hedge, in town I bag it and put in dog bin. I never understand why people actually buy more plastic bags to dispose of poo when so much of what we buy is encased in bags which can be used just as well.

I have a big terrace and any poo on that gets flushed down loo with old bath water.

My dog likes to poo in the garden. So we just lift the manhole cover and pop it down that drain. Gets flushed with the water that's already down there

The bags don't degrade in landfill - they are there for ever as it's an anaerobic environment.

The water companies ask you not to flush dog waste as their treatment centres are only designed to deal with human waste and dog poo can contain different organisms.

If I'm out somewhere remote (and no cattle are grazing) I will "stick and flick". If I'm in areas with lots of dog walkers etc I'll bag and bin. Old discarded crisp bags work well.

If I'm home I have a dedicated patch of earth in the garden. The poos vanish in a day or so.

Not having the dog in the first place is the most environmentally conscious option, I suppose.

True, but possibly not super helpful! Anyway, what if the dog is a rescue? We aren't at the stage of euthanasia for any species yet in order to minimise carbon footprint.

I would have said flushing is the best tbh. I thought landfill was actually pretty bad, even if the stuff being put there is biodegradable, as its packed in so tightly that it really doesn't degrade. That was an argument I heard when trying to decide whether or not to use reusable nappies with DC; even biodegradable disposables don't degrade well in landfill apparently? We did go for reusables btw and try not to tumble them. We also use a green energy company.

But I digress. I'd go with flushing. I don't think you can compost if you grow food and plan to use the compost (again, I read that when researching disposable biodegradable nappies). Otherwise fine, I would guess.

I don't think you should leave it out and about on the pavement. It presumably won't get left there and will be cleaned up by someone, so you lose control of where it goes iyswim.

Oh, won't be doing that any longer after reading the post above ☝🏻🤦🏻‍♀️

Hmm, I suppose if you put it into landfill it adds to the fuel use for disposal. And a flush does use water.

The greenest options would be to leave it where it is and let it biodegrade there (only advisable in very select circumstances and certainly never in towns!), or carry it back yourself and put it in your compost. Then no fuel, plastic, or water is used.

As another poster said though, the greenest thing is of course not to have dogs.

Oh don't flush it down the loo then! X post with yearin.

I never knew that about flushing it (I have never flushed a dogs poo in my life but now I know never to start!).

You can also buy wormeries that decompose dog poo. But they say don’t use the resulting fertiliser on veg, just non edible plants. This will have to be preferred method as I’m now told it can’t be flushed!

It is not safe to add dog faeces to your compost heap or most garden composters.

The poo bags we get are biodegradable, same as the bags for food caddy bins and the ones I think Coop provide as their 10p bags. By mistake, I left a roll of caddy bags in the back of the kitchen cupboard- when I found them, they certainly had started breaking down. We use those bags and then public bin/wheelie bin/loo (whatever's nearest.) (We don't put the bags down the loo btw, just the poo.

I agree with a pp that all disposal methods are environmentally harmful. But then pet ownership is not environmentally sound anyway. Stick n flick is probably the worst though because that affects the water table, wild animal and bird habitats and quite often human comfort and hygiene as well. The ideal is a reinforced paper bag and put to biodegrade but even that releases methane.

We do litter picking and the amount of dog poo in bags we see scattered about. I was thinking the same, wouldn’t it be better to scoop it up and chuck it into undergrowth? Surely a fox poo is of similar composition to a dog one and they don’t carry bags around with them?!

There aren't six million foxes in the UK though.

amp.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/reduce-pets-sustainable-future-cats-dogs

Quite an interesting article, (I think), on the future of pet ownership. It's definitely something to think about.