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!

really interesting ... and I thought an answer would be so easy!!!

What about adult nappies, they must be bigger and still as environmentally bad as disposable nappies. Guess no one talks about reusable adult nappies! How do nursing homes dispose of those? Incinerator?

If the sewer systems and water treatment cannot cope with faecal parasites from dogs...

How on EARTH do they cope with the faecal parasites humans can, and do, carry?

Whilst roundworms and tapeworms in humans aren't common, they do occur.

Threadworms are very common in children.

If the water treatment cannot deal with them, thats VERY worrying indeed.

Or I suspect the truth is, they just don't want people dumping any more down our drains than they already do, and the parasite issue is a bit of a misdirection.

@loveyouradvice

There are reusable adult nappies and i believe some people use extra large terrie squares, but I suppose that, as with baby nappies, it is down to the person caring for that adult to choose what sort of nappy to use. If they are in care homes, like babies at nursery, you would need to find one willing to use them. Not all nurseries will take children in cloth nappies.

Oh ffs not you op! Meant to tag @DobbyTheHouseElk, sorry.

Grrr indeed @lozster. 🤣 I hate all of this "ooh it's just a natural product and I'm returning it to the environment" bullshit. Pets aren't part of nature or the environment and the waste they produce is solely a by-product of human activity.

Why are dog owners so gross? It’s really not ok to leave dog poo to decay in the wild where it can be stepped in/harm animals. Nor does it belong in the sewer. Just accept that owning a pet is yet another environmentally harmful thing people do and get on with disposing op the poo properly.

What about dog mess left on the pavement, flushed into sewers during rain? There's no way to prevent some of this happening (short of banning all dogs).

I kind of think dog mess in the middle of bramble patches is fairly reasonable. (Disclaimer, not a dog owner)

@lljkk dog poo shouldn’t be left on pavements either. Dog poo left in brambles could make other animals sick or wash into waterways in the rain spreading disease. Bag it and bin it. Use an appropriate disposal system as mention above if possible. But stop polluting the general environment subjecting other people and other pets to it.

I have a hot bin composter, which is an insulated compost bin, therefore composting hotter and faster than normal compost bins.

Due to the temperature it works at it is safe to compost faeces (all animals including dogs), as well as cooked food (including meat) and all the nasty garden weeds, as well as all the normal garden waste.

Were I live our bin collections are 3 weekly, and the neighbouring county are already on 4 weekly collections (so I expect we will be too soon). The bin was getting really grim in summer, so the hot bin was a worthwhile investment.

I don't have a pet, but that composter sounds amazing @Cyw2018! We have garden waste and food waste bins, so we don't have a composter at the mo. But I imagine the compost would come in handy for the garden.

A dog has a bigger carbon footprint than a car. If you care about the planet then don't have one and discourage pet ownership generally so the numbers can reduce in time.

I live in the country. I still pick up the dog poo. Its ignorant not to whether you are in a city or the countryside. Whether you are walking down a city high street or a country lane, coming across (and sometimes accidentally stepping in) a big pile of dog poo is extremely revolting.

In my garden it get flung to back of garden. Obviously when walking dog I bag and bin. But this is either burnt or send to a land fil where it doesn ot compose quickly.

All of the posters have so far got better methods than our locals.

Their option is to carefully bag it up, look at the dog bin at the end of our farm drive and then leave it half way up.

Funny that whenever I ask someone on the footpath If it's theirs it never is.

Disgusting

Bio methane powered garden lights?

There's no environmentally friendly way.
Similar to humans really there are far too many dogs.

Dog poo is a massive source of water pollution, in the US is the 3rd biggest contaminator of water, I couldn't find any UK stats off a quick google but I'm sure I've read it is the biggest source of water contamination in the UK but I could be mistaken there.

Leaving dog poo or e.g. the stick and flick method is not environmentally friendly because of the amount of dogs, and amount of bacteria and parasites in the poo. The bacteria stays around long after the dog poo biodegrades and pollutes our soil and water, it's classed as the same threat level as oil on our environment. Really don't do this. Also shit for small children who might fall in it etc

Sewers arent designed for dog poo so don't flush it.

Its actually probably bag and bin. Then it's contained in plastic not polluting the environment, landfill is still the best way to dispose of waste we can't dispose of any other way.

In the long run obviously we will have to have less pets.

@Oysterbabe

False information. When that study was done, researchers failed to take into account that dog and cat food uses the left overs from companies that produce meat products for humans.

Even if cat and dog food production did prove to be bad for the environment, we can just switch to the widely available vegetarian options. We dont need to stop keeping pets, flipping heck!

Can I just ask: I have a big garden with loads of bits to it and it's not easy to carry out my poo patrol duties. Those of you who have a dedicated turd patch.... How do you manage to get your dog to shit there only? I found a mouldy old shit under the trampoline this morning... And we do walk her at night when it's her preference for turds... So... What do. I do, any advice?

Stick and flick wherever you can.

Dog and cat waste should not be flushed. Worm eggs can survive the treatment process, so it's a public health issue.

@NoisingUpNissan I don't - I have a trowel and go round picking it up and depositing it in the designated area. Takes a few minutes to check the lawn for deposits.

It's gone in a week or so.

Compost is the best way, just don't use the compost on your veg patch if you aren't sure of how hot it has been in the bin.

Chances are these days it won't end up in landfill. Most residual waste is burnt in incinerators now. Not sure whether that makes a difference or not!

If you can afford it, get a hot bin composter

www.hotbincomposting.com/blog/can-i-compost-dog-cat-poo.html

I will admit to something horrible now.
Slugs really like eating dog poo, it is their favourite treat. I have a designated corner in the garden where I leave poo, and the slugs devour it in a couple of days.
The upside is that they don't touch the veg garden then at all.