![]() ![]() Then you can leave it for months, and you will have a nice smelling compost for using on your ornamental plants, and it is really rich, and the plants like it.” Composting in an Apartment It gets hot on the inside, cool on the outside, and you keep turning from time to time until it stops getting hot inside. Then you turn it and start working on the temperature. “As the lasagne is baking on the first pile, you poke your shovel in, and it should stop smelling like poop. When you get a pile about 3 feet high, start a second pile and layer it like the first…,” she explains. Any kind of carbon is a bulking agent to cover it, and it also keeps the smell in. “You keep covering the material with sawdust or wood chips, or whatever you have to hand. Seemann humorously likens this method to building and baking a lasagne. If you have a large yard and frequently mow your lawn, it may suit you to opt for adding your dog’s poop to a traditional composting pile. You just need a mix of nitrogen-rich, wet organic materials (food waste, grass cuttings, poop) and dry, carbon-rich materials (sawdust, leaves, shredded paper). There are lots of options when it comes to the actual composting process. “If somebody has toddlers, playing in the yard and putting things in their mouth, then maybe you might want to be more careful,” Rippy continues. ![]() “So, if the dog gets regular veterinary care and you are using the passive compositing technique, the temperatures are not going to be such a big issue.” But it, of course, depends on a person’s comfort with risk. “If you are not worried about killing off any pathogens, you can do what we affectionately call “passive composting”, which is generally less intensive,” she suggests. After the study, the team produced a detailed guide for a high heat composting process that ensures any pathogens and parasites are killed off. Temperatures can reach as much as 160 degrees Fahrenheit in a fresh pile, especially if it contains grass cuttings-they heat up so quickly they can even cause the pile to ignite.Įven if you don’t plan to keep up with the maintenance to ensure that your compost pile reaches those temperatures, providing you are not using the compost on an edible harvest, any risk is minimal.Īnn Rippy worked for the USDA on a study involving dog kennel operators to evaluate the possibility of composting dog waste in northern climates. The heat generated in a large, adequately tended compost pile would kill off any pathogens anyway. “It is such a small amount once it passes through the dog that it is insignificant,” she says. Plus, as Professor Ackland points out, “the fact is, if there were any pathogens, they are suited to living inside humans or dogs, and once you put those pathogens in the compost, unless there are masses of them, they will probably just die.”Īckland has also established that there are no concerns regarding antiparasitic treatments, like those for heartworm. If they get regular veterinary care and treatments for common parasites, the risk is minimal. In terms of the risk of parasites and germs, the first thing to consider is that you will only be composting your own dog’s poop. If anything, it only has an inoffensive earthy aroma within a matter of days. “Compost that you make has lost all of its smell because all the molecules have broken down into their individual components,” she explains. Professor Ackland is keen to reassure owners that compost containing dog poop has little to no odor. The two biggest worries about composting dog poop are generally the smell and the risk of parasites and germs. Is Composting Dog Poop Safe and Practical? ![]() So we’ve got to do something with this dog waste,” she explains. Recently as much as 60% of households have dogs or cats, and just a few years ago, it was 40%. “There’s a huge amount of dog and cat waste now-as much as there was human waste in the fifties, and we’ve got septic systems for that. Rose Seemann is the founder of the pet composting company Envirowagg and author of The Pet Poo Pocket Guide: How to Safely Compost and Recycle Pet Waste. Why is Dog Poop Such a Problem Environmentally?Īre you one of the millions of owners that uses “biodegradable” bags to scoop your dog’s poop before putting it in the trash? Maybe you walk on remote trails and flick your dog’s doody into the bushes, thinking it is fine because it will decompose naturally, and no one is going to tread on it there. Not only is it environmentally friendly, but it is a simple, natural, and inexpensive option for use as a nutrient-rich and surprisingly odor-free fertilizer that plants love. If you can get over the initial “ick” factor, composting your dog’s poop is absolutely worth considering.
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