What is compost?

Composting is the breakdown of organic matter in the presence of aerobic organisms. This is the same process that happens wherever organic matter is exposed to oxygen and moisture: in forests, garden compost piles, lawns, etc. For a more complete explanation, please refer to the DEFINITIONS section.

What can be composted?

Composting can be done with any organic material including yard waste, food scraps, human bio-solids, and animal manure (horse, steer, sheep and dogs!). Different inputs can greatly alter the process of composting, but the main altering element is the carbon to nitrogen ratio. In order to maintain the right balance, to create a hospitable environment for the microorganism agents, different ingredients must be added to the system. In this paper, I will be focusing on the use of dog manure as the input into the composting process.

Why should we look at composting dog manure?

There are approximately 65 million owned dogs in the United States . 39% of U.S. Households own at least one dog. On average, dogs produce ¾ lb of feces per day. That's over 8 million tons of feces produced annually in the United States ! Currently the most common methods of disposal of this waste are tossing it in the trash, or leaving on the ground, both have large negative consequences. The trash option usually involves plastic bags which can take over 100 years to degrade. Besides the ecological ramifications of this untreated waste is the large cost of landfill space, which is consistently increasing. Leaving the waste untreated (not picking it up) has been proven to cause great environmental harm, from contaminating our waterways to endangering wildlife. There are a few alternatives (which will be discussed in the APPLICATION section) currently in place. This paper will focus most heavily on the idea of composting dog manure in dog parks, a location of high density where a large-scale project can be more easily implemented. In the City of Seattle , nine off leash area parks are currently in place. In Magnussen (the largest of the nine) 40, 33 gallon bins are picked up daily to dispose of the waste. The costs are high, from socially unpleasant odors, to high cost of hauling and landfill space, and the environmental cost of pollutants leaching from the system. The following list of benefits were pulled from Lyn Taylor's “A Dooable project”, 2004. The list reflect some of the many benefits from composting as opposed to the more traditional methods of disposal.

Benefits: (lifted from Taylor , ‘A Doo-able project')

• Decrease waste in landfills and sewers
• Increase fertilizers for plant growth
• Increase organic matter for soil structure, drainage and water retention.
• Decrease risk of ground water contamination.
• Decrease antagonism between dog owners and non-dog owners

It is my goal to articulate a sustainable alternative that can turn this seemingly unwanted waste, into a valuable resource.