Composting Dog Waste?

[GardeNerd]

Has anyone intentionally set up a bin just for composting pet poop?

I am trying it with the intention of reducing what goes to the landfill around here. I cringe everytime I put a poop filled plastic bag in the trash. Also, the biodegradable poop bags apparently only breakdown if they are within the top part of a landfill heap, 14 ft. or less, so that doesn't help much either. If the biodegradable bags don't have oxygen, they can't decompose.

With my bin, I don't plan to use anything that comes out of it near any edible plants, so don't worry about that part. I am aware there could be pathogens in dog or cat poo. Homemade versions are barely represented online, and I am not one to go out and buy something if I can make it myself. I have not decided if I will just bury the hole eventually and move it to a new location, or empty it when full.

Any suggestions or words of wisdom? Thank you.

Pictures, location, and description is here:
http://hanburyhome.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/doggiedo-digestor/

Edited to fix my broken link. Opps.

 

[boggybranch]

I would say "no" to any meat eating critter poop for use as compost.

 

[patandchickens]

I know people who just make a hole (not in a location where it will get active contact with groundwater) and chuck the poo in for a while, then cover it with soil and start another hole. Not very high tech and probably could be improved on, but, sure.

Boggybranch, I don't think the intention is to USE the compost (right?) just to have a way of disposing of dog droppings in a natural manner. Seems sensible enough to me, anyhow.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[GardeNerd]

I don't think the intention is to USE the compost (right?) just to have a way of disposing of dog droppings in a natural manner. Seems sensible enough to me, anyhow.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Yes. The purpose is environmentally friendly disposal. There are no ground water wells in the asphalt jungle I live in to contaminate.

*One of the many resources I used in my research came from:
United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Services: A Guide on Composting Pet Waste: Bury Your Pet Waste- Compost & Soils- Natural Yard Care

Most traditional composting methods prohibit pet waste. In the 15 years I have composted, I have never put pet waste, meat, fat, grease, or anything like that in my compost.

I am looking for people with practical advice who have actually disposed of pet waste on their own property.

Thanks.

 

[Southern Gardener]

I wouldn't compost dog poo to use in the garden. I have three dogs and I made my own dog poo septic system;

Buy a plastic trash bin with a lid. Dig a hole deep enough so that the bin will stick up about half a foot above the ground. Dig the hole wide enough so that the bin has several inches between the ground and the bin for drainage. Cut of the bottom of the trash bin out and drill holes in the sides of the bin. Place gravel in the bottom of the hole and set the bin in. Add the dog poo and fill up the bin with water - you can add Rid-X or other septic treatments to break down the poo. Make sure you keep water in the bin.

 

[lupinfarm]

You *can* use it on your flower gardens. The only composter that is okay to use for dog waste and meat is the cone type black ones. We have a doggy poop-poster in the garden. You can also get a hatch at Petsmart that you dig a hole, stick the hatch in, and start filling said hole with poo. You can start moving the location around when you fill up the first one.


Stephy who has 6 dogs, and thus 6 times the poop!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I dug a deep hole in the dripline of a big elm tree, built a little cover with a lift-out lid inside the cover, and deposit the cat and dog residue there. When it is almost full, I dig another hole and cover the old one with dirt. I do not use the dog or cat droppings to compost for my vegetable garden. I do not plan to eat my elm tree.

To me it is a matter of perspective. It sounds like your area is more suburban than mine. Out here, I am sure the coyotes are dropping a lot more predator droppings than my two dogs and one cat and not really harming the environment. It is not buried. In suburbia, the amount of rat droppings in the storm sewers that gets washed into whatever body of water the storm drains flow into whenever you get a heavy rain dwarfs any amount of dog droppings you may bury. How many people in your neighborhood walk dogs without cleaning up after them. Your dog's droppings will change to humus which will be used by some plant, whether tree or grass.

I think burying the waste so it can become humus and not fill up the landfills is being a great steward of the land. And give Mother Nature some credit. She has been handling predator poop for thousands of years without fouling the environment. With a little help, she can accomplish a lot.

Editted to add: It might get smelly or attract flies if you just put it in an open hole. Mine is on a far corner so smell doesn't matter and it really does not get that bad, either smell or flies. If it does get too bad in your climate and conditions, you can cover it with a layer of dirt or maybe try sprinkling quick lime or DE.

 

[Anny]

I would not use any compost from a meat eating animal in my garden EVER .

I have seen the compost "hole" where you dig a whole and put a "trap door" over it. The poop goes down the hole, and the trap door keeps the smell down. This way the good breaks down in a safe way.

 

[GardeNerd]

I have seen the compost "hole" where you dig a whole and put a "trap door" over it. The poop goes down the hole, and the trap door keeps the smell down. This way the good breaks down in a safe way.

If you would like to see what I was asking for suggestions and recommendations on, I had put a link to pictures of my first attempt at building one in my first post.

It is a deep hole in the ground with a bottomless bin over that and a lid. It is lined with metal screen in the lower part where the bin doesn't cover to keep it from caving in.



*For folks that do these bins (or holes if that is what it should be called) do you bury it when it is done and start over somewhere else, or do dispose of it elsewhere, do you use it in ornament plants, or what?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I abandon in place and dig another hole. The elm tree will send in roots to harvest it. When I process my chickens, the parts that are not used get buried so they will decompose and the trees will eventually use it. Other than egg shells in my compost heap, I tend to stay away from handling any composted animal wastes or products. I'm sure well composted animal wastes would be fine to use on non-food plants, but I have a way to use them without having to handle them. Works for me.

From looking at your link, you could leave this one in place once it is filled, prepare and use another one while the first one completes composting, an use that compost in ornamentals if you wish. I think you will need two of them because the first one has to complete composting after you stop filling it and you will need something to receive the deposits while it is completing this process. I do not know how long it would take to complete the process once you stop the regular additions to it.