A Novel Idea: Compost Your Pet’s Waste
June 21, 2010 – 2:50 pm by MarinaHanes
You probably consider your pet the cutest dog or cat in the world, but its waste can be toxic to the environment. In addition to potentially leaching into your vegetable garden, your pet’s waste also carries salmonella and other harmful bacteria. Instead of letting it fester in your yard, give your pet’s waste a more productive path.
Composting pet waste is an easy way to create fertilizer for your ornamentals. Obviously, you don’t want pet waste compost near your vegetable garden or herbs, but you can definitely use it to enhance your flowerbeds and trees. So where do you start?
The first step is creating a composting bin especially for your pet’s waste. It’s great if you already have a compost bin for food scraps, but you will want a separate one for pet waste. Then you will have to be diligent about picking up your dog or cats poop. It’s a dirty job, but composting your dog or cat’s waste is more efficient than sending it off to a landfill. Plus, it will give you a reason to keep your yard clean, because with this extra effort, you will create a nutrient rich fertilizer for your ornamentals.
Does it really require extra effort though? When you have an indoor cat, you’re going to have to scoop the waste out of the litter anyway, so really you just have to put it in a baggy to carry outside. It’s best to use a biodegradable litter too. For dogs, simply pick up the waste right away and walk it over to the compost bin. Your pooch will love to spend a little more time outside anyway.
Composting your pet’s waste seems like a bizarre activity, but it’s more efficient for the planet and will save you money on fertilizer for your ornamentals.
