New Best Way to Handle Dog Poop

I've found an even better way to dispose of dog poop than the one I documented in 2008 at http://ecopractice.blogspot.com/2008/03/best-way-to-dispose-of-dog-poop.html

It works by using a funnel-like attachment on your sewer cleanout so you can drop the dog poop directly into your sewer line without necessarily using any water!

Here is a picture of me doing this:




This is neater and easier than putting the dog poop in a toilet to flush. Saves water too.

The sewer cleanout accessory we use is the Doggie Doo Drain Dog Waste Sewer Line Attachment.

The reusable device we now use to pick up poop on walks (instead of using a plastic bag) is Nature's Miracle Jaw Scoop. It is easy to carry and holds the poop in the little bucket its jaws create. The medium size model can hold dozens of small poops or a couple of big poops from a big dog (we have little dogs). There is also a jumbo size if you need it.

If the poop is solid and not sticky, no water is needed as the poop just rolls down into the sewer. The poop in the sewer line gets flushed when water inside the house enters the sewer line. If the poop is sticky, using a little water from a nearby hose can rinse it down the funnel as well as rinse off the pooper scooper. Still less water used than a toilet flush.

The sewer system is the best way to handle both dog poop and human poop. I confirmed this with Sunnyvale waste management (both solid waste and sewage departments) as well as numerous online sources. Having trash sorters run into poop in the trash is not so pleasant (all trash in Sunnyvale is sorted to try to reclaim recyclables residents mistakenly put in the trash). Please note that cat poop is more problematic (toxoplasmosis survives sewage treatment and is fatal to sea otters in San Francisco Bay).

Note that our sewer cleanout is located in a great spot near our house so it is very convenient to use for dog waste disposal plus we can "smell" our sewer backing up outside before it backs up inside. This location of cleanout allows blockages to be more easily removed between our house and the street. Sewer cleanouts near the street probably won't work as well for either this dog poop disposal method or to allow the sewer line between your house and the street to be cleared easily.

Here are some closer pictures of our sewer cleanout. The funnel was a snap to install. It screws into the same threads that the black inner cap uses.












Here is a picture of the pooper scooper we use on walks (we normally keep it outside in the flowerbed next to our front door ready for the next walk):


Here is the one we use for our backyard (it stays outside in the back):

Waste reduction summary:

1. Matter (material):
1. No disposable flushing bags or plastic bags needed. Just reusable scoopers and funnel.
2. Energy
1. Less than needed to create, ship, buy, and dispose of poop bags. Just the one time manufacturing and shipping to get this reusable equipment. Piggybacks on existing sewer system with negligible additional energy (or water) needed.
3. Time
1. Picking up poop with scoopers is faster and easier than using a bag. Do need to remember to grab a pooper scooper when going for a walk.
4. Space
1. A little outside space occupied by reusable equipment, but less inside space that was previously occupied by empty poop bags.
5. Money
1. Cost is much less than buying bags (for us with 3 dogs that is 6 poops/bags a day or 2190/year at a cost of 2 cents per bag or $44 per year or $440 over 10 years. One time investment of about $50-60 for funnel and a scooper. (We used to use "free" bags from our newspaper and produce -- but since we no longer get a physical newspaper and use reusable bags for produce, we no longer have a "free" source.)
6. Environment/Health/Life
1. Disposing of poop this way is much healthier, safer, and better for the environment than having it go thru sorting and then entombing in a landfill. We will run out of landfills. Also eliminating the disposable plastic is extremely important as plastic from bags lasts hundreds of years and eventually poisons our creeks, rivers, oceans, and us. Sewer and septic systems are much more effective and efficient at handling human and dog waste than other methods.