Dog waste is a public health issue. Keeping parks and streets clean is an important problem that needs to be addressed daily.

Dog Waste Bags

Saw man’s best friend doing his business and the owner responsibly picking up the waste with a reused plastic bag.  Petroleum based plastic bags take forever to decay.  Biodegrabable dog waste bags made of starch are available that degrade in only 90 days to 18 months. If these bags reach the landfill, they will take even longer decompose. Landfills are designed to protect the environment and prevent leakage, so it is hard for air and liquids to circulate, which help facilitate biodegradation. When organic matter decays in a landfill, it usually creates the greenhouse gas methane. Make sure dog droppings are not put into the compost bin.

Flushing Dog Waste

A greener alternative would be to flush only the dog waste (no bag)  into the sewer system or to use an inground dog waste digester like the Doggie Dooley or Staywell Eco Clean. Do not do this with cat poop as it contains toxins that affect marine life. You need to consult with your local municipal waste provider to ensure you follow their guidelines.

You could also make a worm farm or do composting or buy or make a dog toilet aka doggy loo.

Recology, formerly known as Norcal Waste Systems, has set up shop in the San Francisco Bay Area and expanded its coverage areas. They are the new garbage company with a focus on recycling as much as possible. We finally have a service that handles composting of food waste! We no longer have to perform time-consuming and messy composting ourselves.  This service opens the door to recycling so much more material to the mainstream masses. If your local trash firm does not too composting, contact them and ask for it.

If you look at the size of the bins, you will notice that the black trash bin is a lot smaller than the blue recycling bin, and the green composting bin. One sign of a non-eco-friendly household is the presence of an upgraded larger black trash bin!

Trash has become big business, with recyclables and compost generating revenue for these companies. As we mentioned in our Recycling article, trash firms now can turn waste into energy.

Recology has even provided small food waste holders that you use in the kitchen to shuttle waste to your outside green composting bin. They allow you to line the pale with a biodegradable plastic liner, which is available at local grocery stores including Costco, Safeway, and Whole foods. A liner lets you capture all those liquids to prevent a massive mass. Hats off to a modern recycling company.

• Compost food scraps, vegetable scraps, dirty takeout boxes, napkins
• Compostable forks and knives, leftovers, flowers and more

Be sure to check out our article on Recycling Tips