Pet Poo Skiddoo
Composts its Dog Waste!
Each month, thousands of pounds of dog waste is collected, diverted from the landfills of Asheville, NC, and turned into a safe and effective fertilizer.
Why compost dog poop?
Currently there are more then 80 million dogs in the U.S., each one depositing an average of 275 lbs of waste annually. That’s a staggering 22 billion lbs of poop per year – most of which is placed in plastic bags and thrown into the landfill. We’re here to change that. You’ve heard of “reuse, renew, recycle”? The same can be applied to dog waste.
How is dog poop composted?
We use a method of in-vessel composting, meaning all the waste we gathered is placed inside a container that is keeps out sun, rain, and critters; There is an single opening to allow air to flow in and out as well as a drain port towards the bottom to allow excess liquids to escape. Not only does it contain the heat, but it keeps out the smells that we all know can be a bit unpleasant.
Although we would like to take credit for the actual composting of the dog waste, the truth is that nature takes care of most of it. The trick is to have hundreds of pounds of waste piled together and then maintain an ideal amount of moisture and air (by periodically mixing and watering) until it meets it peak temperature of 150°F. At that point the waste begins ‘cooking’, allowing it to kill off its pathogens, let go of excess nitrogen, and in the end leaves behind a humus that is rich in nutrients and beneficial to the soil.
Please keep in mind the average dog owner will not be able to collect enough dog waste in a short amount of time to properly compost it and safety kill of harmful bacteria – so please don’t try this at home!
The Equipment
We have chosen to purchase equipment from Green Mountain Technologies, a company in Bainbridge Island, WA that offers a wide range of composting solutions for small-scale operations to large enterprises.
The composters we have purchased are called Earth Cubes, in-vessel units that are completely enclosed in order to contain odors, keep animals and bugs out, and prevent unwanted bacteria from seeping into the soil. Earth Cubes are for relatively small amounts of waste in terms of commercial composting; Currently, we are processing 1,000 lbs of dog waste per week.
The Land
Six acres of land has been purchased in a secluded area outside of Asheville where we have set up our equipment. The waste that we scoop up in each yard is directly delivered to this location to be converted into a usable fertilizer.
Check out Our Composting Process in Action
Click here to see more articles and videos related to our composting process.
We DON’T Use Plastic Bags
Since we compost the dog waste that we collect, there’s no need for disposable plastic bags. For all yard scoopings, bin pickups, and commercial pet waste station, we use 100% Compostable ASTM D6400 bags that can be thrown straight into our composters. For the occasional “heavy loads” that we encounter that require a stronger material, we use our self-made, hand-sewn, reusable nylon bags.