Bring up the issue of what to do with dog poop in any group, especially a group about hiking with dogs, and a heated discussion usually breaks out. There are different views on how to “dispose” of it and there are very passionate people on both sides of the issue.
One belief is that dog poop is natural and should be left on the ground to let nature take care of it. People in this camp believe that dogs have been pooping on this earth since they evolved so nothing different needs to be done now. Those people think that dog poop will biodegrade and turn to dirt and some believe that they are helping the environment by “adding more dirt”.
The other belief is that dog poop should be picked up, bagged, and thrown in the trash. The reasoning is that modern dog poo contains bacteria and pathogens that cam make humans sick (it’s proved by science that it does). These people think that there are way more dogs per acre of land pooping than there were 300 years ago and that the earth’s natural processes can’t handle that “load”. They also think that humans have altered the landscape to the point that the vegetation and helpful bacteria isn’t there in the amounts required to biodegrade dog poop in a safe and timely manner.
So who is right? Well, I may be a bit “biased” because I am a former scientist who worked in environmental cleanup and water quality for 10 years but I strongly believe the latter. Dog poop left on the ground in urban areas washes into the water during rains before it degrades. It may look like it “goes away” and it does but think of it as one big pile of dog poop becoming one million tiny piles of dog poop and floating away. I’ve had to close down places people like to swim because there is too much fecal coliform in the water (one of the primary bacteria in poop).
Check out this infographic from Earth Rated Poop Bags for a more in-depth explanation.
Now you might say, “But I don’t live or hike in an urban environment? I know for sure that when I leave poop in my back yard, or my dog goes in the woods, it doesn’t wash into streams. This doesn’t apply to my situation.”
There would have been a time that I passionately disagreed with that argument. Now I just disagree with that argument but am less likely to add my two cents to a conversation because, in my experience, I am not going to change any minds.
You see, the bacteria and pathogens in dog poop take longer to “go away” in the environment than the dog poo itself. In your back yard, it may look like the poo disappeared but the bacteria is still in the soil. Now imagine your kid, or your neighbor’s kid, is playing in your yard. Their toys get dirt on them, then their hands get dirty, and then they stick their fingers in their mouth like kids do. Now they have just eaten bacteria from dog poop. Yuck! Eating contaminated dirt can make kids sick. I will admit that it’s rare but it happens. Taking that risk is up to you.
So what about in the woods? I admit that the “washing into the water” is less of a problem here. The increased vegetation to hold it in place, and the presence of more bacteria, means that one pile of dog poop will break down and probably not cause significant harm to the environment if it’s in small amounts. The issue is that, at least on a lot of the trails in our area, hundreds of dogs can hike the same trail in a week. Imagine if your favorite trail was lined on each side by piles of raw, stinky sewage. That’s what would happen if a lot of the dogs pooped in the woods and it was never picked up. Then lets not forget that some of those dogs would poop IN the trail so you would step in it. Yuck again! I would be mad if that were me and I would be super-duper mad at dog owners if I didn’t even like the critters (I don’t get it but, yes. some people really don’t like dogs).
So, the moral of the story is scoop the poop. Sending masses of poop to the landfill is not the perfect solution but it’s the best there is right now to keep the earth clean and keep everyone safe and happy.
Jodi says
I admit, I don’t scoop in my yard (at least not all the time) but I definitely do on our walks, even in the woods. We live in a very hilly area and the park is at the top of the street. There are streams in the park and their waters eventually makes their way down the hill to the sewer system. I just wish more people were aware of this, because I have to constantly keep my head down on walks, just to make sure I don’t step in anything.
Jessica Rhae says
Does water in your area actually go in a sewer? Geeky semantics I know but I ask because in most areas of the country, rainwater that goes down the drain flows untreated into streams. In the old days, rainwater and toilet water used to flow in the same system (called combined sewer systems). There are some areas like that in Seattle because they are so old. That water goes to treatment plants. It’s been a law for decades now that two separate systems be constructed so the sewage treatment plants aren’t flooded with rainwater. Just curious how it is in your neighborhood.
Sherwick Min says
Let’s look at the big picture. Bacteria which is a natural form of life vs. Plastic which is man-made.
https://projectkaisei.org/
How else do you pick up poop?
The plastic ends up in landfills (when picking up poop in our backyards) or in the streams and oceans (when we leave it on the side of the trail with no garbage cans in sight). Landfills – out of sight, out of mind?
Denise Gruzensky says
What a great post, information and info-graphic! Thank you for the information!
Jessica Rhae says
Glad you found it helpful.
Jessica Rhae says
Yeah, it is frustrating that there is not a better solution at this point. I’ve heard of some people flushing it (from their yard or bringing it home and doing that) but when flushable poop bags first came to market I called our local sewage treatment plant for their opinion. They said they absolutely don’t want people putting pet waste into toilets. There are so many reasons. I won’t bore you but the main reason is that treatment plants wouldn’t be able to handle the additional influx of “sewage” and the plants aren’t designed to destroy all of the bacteria and pathogens in dog poop (some are different than in humans).
MelF says
I am SO sharing this. I am a pick it up person too. I actually read up on the effects dog feces has on the environment a fe years back and was surprised at how little we can do with it in terms of the environment. I know one community in Great Britain tried using it to generate electricity for the dog park lights, but that was a one-off circumstance and not all that effective. Dogs carry a lot of bacteria in their poop, so leaving it is not an option for me. Great piece.
Jessica Rhae says
I think I saw a waste digester in the states like that too – ran the lights for a dog park. I can’t remember where it was though.
Hailey and Zaphod says
You have inspired me to be less lazy about picking up the poop when they go in reasonable and reachable spots in the bush (sometimes Phod gets himself into places I just can’t reach!).
Jessica Rhae says
Yay. I inspired someone 🙂
Bruce Sherman says
That’s interesting, because when I looked into it a while ago, Metro was recommending putting dog waste into toilets because they could handle it and it was a better option than landfills. I’ll have to go back and check again. I just use a shovel in the yard and take to to a toilet in my studio that is used infrequently and flush it. I figure it’s good for the toilet to have some use, and the poop goes where poop goes.
Jessica Rhae says
I worked in Shoreline and talked directly to my contact at the sewer treatment plant. That was over 5 years ago though so they might have changed their tune. I still keep up on all of the regional messaging though (helped start the coalition in the Puget Sound about stormwater education) and I haven’t heard their primary message change. Let me know if you find where you saw that. I would be interested to check it out.
Bruce Sherman says
This is a link to an article linked to on the King County Sewage Treatment website. http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/ecoconsumer/documents/SeattleTimes_2015-04-04.pdf
In one section it says that dog poop can go in the sewage system, but not cat litter. They also don’t recommend burying it at home anymore as it can leach into the ground water. Bag and toss is also recommended, but not in the yard waste, and also that the bio bags are a waste in solid waste because they won’t bio degrade quickly in a landfill.
Jessica Rhae says
Thanks. Unless I am missing something, that article says that bagging dog poop and placing it in the trash is the best way to go (the in the bag section). Specifically, “For now, most health- and waste-related government agencies recommend pet waste be put in a plastic bag and placed in the garbage. Although not ideal environmentally, it’s considered the most practical and safest approach.”
It does say “Flushing small amounts of dog waste down the toilet is fine, if you’re so disposed” (in the cat litter quandary section) but does not promote that as a primary way of disposal. One person doing it is probably not a big deal. They certainly wouldn’t want every dog owner in the are doing it on a regular basis though.
Faith Ellerbe, Live.Wag.BARK! says
One thing I did not know was that waste water treatment plants cannot filter bacteria from dog poop. People don’t realize how not scooping their dogs poop affects the earth and potential our health.