ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

America's 73 million dogs produce around 10 million tons of dog poop per year 6,500 tons of that in San Francisco alone, making up around 4 percent of the city's total residential waste. The litter from America's 90 million pet cats results in around 2 millions tons of cat litter being sent to landfills each year. Making the problem worse, clay-based litters aren't biodegradable, as they're already in their final state of decomposition.

Feces left in gardens, parks, empty lots, and on the streets will run off into storm drains and waterways, contaminating them with bacterial waste that can cause human and wildlife diseases.

While dog feces can be safely disposed of in the toilet, used cat litter should never be flushed. Modern waste treatment doesn't kill a pesky organism known as toxoplasma gondii. When water containing this parasite enters the ocean, it sickens and kills sea otter populations. Toxoplasma also causes disease in humans, especially the immune-compromised and pregnant women.

Disposing of used cat litter is only half the problem. The other half is figuring out what to use as litter in the first place. Clay-based cat litters are not a by-product of the manufacture of something else, but produced by strip mining. The clay, known as bentonite, is found under several layers of soil, which are removed in the mining process. The first few inches of clay are discarded, and the final clay is removed and processed into cat litter.

If you're a consumer who is concerned about the impact of factory farming on the environment (and if you think cat poop is a problem for the environment, let's talk about high-volume hog farming sometime), the source of the meat products in your pet's food deserves as much scrutiny as the source in your own. If you only buy locally grown, organically raised produce, try to support sustainable methods of agriculture, and seek out meats raised and slaughtered in ways you find humane, you might be surprised to find out how hard it is to apply those same standards to your pets' food.

It can also be harder to "buy local" when using commercial pet foods. Even companies located nearby might manufacture their foods in plants in other states, using ingredients shipped in from all over the world. Nearly every vitamin supplement used in this country is made in China, and, as this year's pet food recall taught us, so are many of the raw ingredients of pet foods. The environmental cost of packaging, shipping, storing, and distributing those sacks and cans of pet food has to be tallied, along with the convenience of using them.

If the pet poop problem reminds anyone of the disposable diapers problem, then it won't be a surprise to know that pets and kids share another issue: toys.

Imported plastic toys in bright colors fill the aisles of pet supply stores pretty much the same way they fill the aisles of toy stores.

We drive our pets to the groomer, the vet, the park, doggy day care. Their food, toys, combs, brushes, and other supplies are shipped from locations all over the country, or even all over the world. When you get right down to it, it's all about the gas.

Many cities around the world are trying different approaches to dog waste disposal. San Francisco is testing a method that doesn't just reduce the dog poop carbon pawprint, but creates energy instead of waste. Sunset Scavenger processes dog poop in a methane digester, where bacteria turn the waste into methane gas. Methane can be used just like natural gas, and can also be used to produce electricity.

Litterboy.com have a great product to green the pooh side of things.

It is called Skooperbox and is a superior pet clean-up product. Skooperbox is made out of 100% Recycled Material and is 100% Bio-degradable--no other like-product can make a similar claim! Because of the patent-pending scraper tab design, there is no more touching of pet waste, nor chasing it around to get it into the bag. The debuted Skooperbox -to rave reviews. Everyone who tries Skooperbox, absolutely loves it. Children to major celebrities have all tried Skooperbox and the results are all the same: "I Love It!"

What about the doggie pee pee...

According to wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, urine is sterile and contains large amounts of urea, an excellent source of nitrogen for plants. Recommended dilution: 10-15 parts water to 1 part urine for application growing season. Urine is also a good source of phosphorus and potassium, and is widely considered as good as or better than commercially-available chemical fertilizers. Urine is also used in composting to increase the nitrogen content of the mulch, accelerating the composting process and increasing its final nutrient values.

What to with the doggie poo poo...

Take and old garbage can and drill a dozen or so holes in the side.

Cut out the bottom (A keyhole saw works great for this.)

Dig a hole in the ground, deep enough for the garbage can.

Toss some rocks or gravel in the hole for drainage and position the garbage can so it's a little higher than the soil level.

Place the lid on top (you might want to paint it with something like Dog Waste Composter.)

When you scoop some poop, put it in the hole and sprinkle in some septic starter (available at hardware stores) and add some water.

According to the www.cityfarmer.org web site, "Within 48 hours, the septic tank starter, (which is non-caustic and promotes natural bacterial growth) will have begun its work and you can add more dog doo. You can then begin to add it daily. This waste biodegrades and flows into the subsoil."

You should not put the composted dog waste in your garden.

While burying a garbage can to compost dog waste might seem like overkill if you live near the woods or close to a patch of blackberry bushes, but when you think about it, why not contain the waste in a more environmentally-friendly manner?

Every day we give the animals fresh water. The "old" water goes on the plants instead of down the drain.

Adopt your next pet. Pet breeders tend to overbreed, inbreed, and may make poor choices for the sake of money. Why buy when you can rescue or adopt one of the 70,000 puppies and kittens born every day in the U.S.?

Spaying or neutering domesticated animals helps cut down on the overpopulation of homeless animals. It has also been proven to help animals to live longer, healthier lives with less chances of uterine, ovarian, and testicular cancer.

Many specialty pet food stores now offer natural and organic pet foods that use meats that are raised in sustainable, humane ways. This means there are no pesticides, antibiotics, artificial ingredients, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The health and well-being of your pet is important. Now there’s a range of options to help make better choices from grooming and cleaning products, to natural toys and collars. Give them as gifts to help friends learn about this too.