It’s no longer news to the ears that America’s 89.7 million canines generate poop, amounting to over 10.6 million tons each year. The only surprising thing here is that only approximately 60 percent of the country’s dog owners care to dispose of their pet’s poop, particularly when their dog defecates outdoor.
There’re several methods of disposing of dog poop with ease. But then, not all of them are considered eco-friendly. However, flushing dog poop down the toilet seems more convenient for many dog owners. The standpoint for some of these dog owners is that humans have no issue flushing their poop down the toilet; therefore flushing dog pop shouldn’t be an issue.
If you’re a dog owner thinking of flushing your dog poop down the toilet and need in-depth information on that, you will find this post helpful. Keep reading!
Read: Can You Flush Cat Poop Down the Toilet?
Is it Safe to Flush Dog Poop Down the Toilet?
Yes, it’s safe for dog owners to flush their dog poop down the toilet. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recommends it. According to the agency, flushing dog poop down the toilet is not only safe, but it’s one of the most eco-friendly ways of disposing of dog poop.
When you flush poops down the toilet, they end up in the sewer treatment plant. In the plant, most pollutants get removed before the waste is emptied into the stream or river.
So, flushing dog poop in the toilet won’t harm the next person who immediately uses the toilet after flushing. It also won’t cause any serious pollution of the streams or rivers.
However, before you start flushing dog poop in your toilet, ask the water and sewage treatment control center if they can tackle the pathogens that accompany pet waste. Be sure about this before you start flushing your dog poop. If you go ahead and flush without confirming, you might run into trouble with the authorities.
A Handy Tip: Before you flush your dog pet’s poop down your toilet, check to ensure the scooped poop isn’t accompanied by other debris that could clog your toilet.
Can You Flush Dog Poop in Septic Tank?
The ease and swiftness of flushing dog poop down the toilet appeals to many dog owners. But before you start flushing dog poop, know that type of waste storage system plays a crucial role.
The bottom line is if you are utilizing a septic system, do not flush dog poop down the toilet. You should only do so if you’re using a public sewer, where the water treatment and sewer center can handle the myriad of pathogens that accompanies such waste.
You can’t flush dog poop in a septic tank because dog poop waste processing may be more than the septic system design capacity.
Many people would argue that since human poop can be processed in septic, dog poop shouldn’t be a problem. But the truth of the matter is that unlike human poop, dog poop comes packed with rawhide, grasses, and a large volume of hair. And these can clog the toilet’s drain field, forcing you to hire a plumber when the drain gets clogged.
When you consider the stress and cost of unclogging your blocked toilet, you will see that flushing dog poop in a septic isn’t worth it. Instead, it would be better to empty the waste in the trash, which would eventually end up on the landfill.
A Handy Tip: Don’t throw dog poop in the litter bin if the bin isn’t going to be emptied every day. If it’s not going to be emptied daily, then make sure you wrap the poop in a small plastic bag before emptying it into the litter bin.
How Long Does it Take Dog Poop to Decompose?
Unlike human poop, dog poop could take 9 weeks to decompose. At this point, you could still be seeing patches of the poop, but the poop would have reduced to zero in size. If you weren’t aware that it was dog poop before it decomposes completely, you wouldn’t recognize it.
Human poop, on the other hand, takes almost a year to biodegrade. But dog poop only takes 9 weeks to biodegrade. Like humans, dog poop is harmful. According to a Clean Water Campaign organized in Georgia, USA, over 23 million fecal coliform bacteria were estimated from a gram of dog poop.
These fecal coliform bacteria are dangerous to humans. They can cause diarrhea, cramp, dehydration, kidney disorders, and intestinal illness.
So, if you have a dog, always make an effort to dispose of its poop appropriately. Your dog poop shouldn’t put the environment or other people’s lives in danger.
Don’t forget that dog poop also contains parvovirus, coccidia, threadworms, hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and giardia. So, as a dog owner, ensure you’re extremely careful when handling your dog’s poop.
6 Green Ways To Dispose of Dog Poop
There are several ways to dispose of your dog poop without harming the environment or putting other people’s lives in danger. Whether you live in a city with little to no outdoor space or in a rural area, you can dispose of your dog poop in a greenway.
Here are some techniques to try out:
1. Using Waste Digester
A waste digester is one of the easiest and environmentally safe ways of disposing of pet poop. It works not just for dog poop, but other pets.
The waste digester is about a bucket’s size. You bury it in the ground, preferably in your yard, open the lid and pour in your pet poop. After that, you just add some water and enzyme to liquefy the poop.
You can decide to add the water and enzyme once every week, probably on weekends. They liquefy the poop and make it safer to return to the earth.
One of the most reliable and effective waste digesters is the Doggie Dooley.
2. Biodegradable Poop Bag
Assuming you live in a city where outdoor space is limited. How do you intend to dispose of your dog’s poop in an eco-friendly manner? Many people are used to bagging dog poop with plastic bags. But these are non-biodegradables and are unsafe for our environment.
Read: Can You Flush Gunpowder Down The Toilet?
You can get a high-quality and biodegradable poop bag to bag your canine’s poop from time to time. These bags are not just biodegradable. They are cost-effective, 100% plastic-free, leak-proof, unscented, and even vegetable-based.
So, even if the dog poop you threw in the litter bin ends up on the landfill, the poop would still decompose over time.
You can check out this eco-friendly pet poop bag.
3. Using a Fushable Poop Bag
If you’re the type of dog owner that enjoys flushing dog poop down the toilet, then you will find the flushable poop bag very useful. It lets you pick-up and move dog poops to the toilet neatly.
The flushable bag decomposes when it lands in the sewer. So, there’s no tangible reason to be afraid when flushing the poop and bag down your toilet. The poop bag won’t clog the drain. And what’s more, flushing dog poop down the toilet will ensure your trash can no longer stink from decomposing dog poop.
You can check out this flushable poop bag.
A pack contains 100 flushable poop bags, and they’re leak-proof.
4. Using Outdoor Flushing Technique
This happens to be another green way to dispose of dog poop. It’s also simple and fast. And as the name implies, the flushing is done outdoors.
The outdoor toilet is specifically for your pet, and you don’t need any bag to store the poop before flushing. Just scoop and empty the poop in the outdoor toilet and flush. What makes this toilet so special is that you can connect it to your sewer line outside your home.
Here is an innovative and effective outdoor flushing toilet to dispose of dog poop in an eco-friendly manner.
5. Composting Dog Poop
Here comes another green way to dispose of dog poop. Composting is one method of disposing of dog poop seasoned environmentalists recommend, given the product’s usefulness and the eco-friendly way poop is being disposed of.
Composting is similar to a waste digester. However, if you want, feel free to add some yard waste and use it as fertilizer.
A Handy Tip: You should only use compost made from dog poop on non-edible plants. Please do not use it to grow food plants, as it is unsafe.
6. Disposing Pet Poop to Worm Farms
Instead of asking your kids to move around the garden and clear up any smelly dog poop they come across, you can set up a worm farm. Even if the kids eventually scoop and deposit the poops in the trash can, the poops will still end up in the landfills, which is not healthy.
Worm farming is one of the easiest and eco-friendly ways to dispose of dog poop. Using compost worms or earthworms, you can convert your dog poop into a richer nutrient worm casting.
Worms enjoy feeding on dog excrement. They have no teeth and prefer consuming such decomposing materials. Worm bins never smell, neither will your backyard where the worm farm is situated. And you’ll receive steady production of worms, needed for the decomposition of organic matter.
The worm castings produced can also be used as fertilizer for flowers and non-edible plants. You can also sell the worms to generate extra income, and if you were someone who enjoys freshwater fishing, you would have a steady supply of fat worms to use as bait.
A Handy Tip: Do not use excrement from dogs that have just been de-wormed in your worm farm. Wait for a week or more before you start using the poop from such dogs.
The Best Way to Dispose of Dog Poop at Home
As you can see, there are many ways to dispose of dog poops. You can use waste digester, turn them into compost, use in a worm farm, create an outdoor flushing toilet, or try other processes mentioned here.
All these are excellent ways to dispose of dog excrements, as long as they are eco-friendly. However, most people would prefer bagging the poop in a flushable bag and flushing it down the toilet. It’s quick and safe.
Read: Can You Flush Matches Down The Toilet? (And in Garbage?)
But before you start sending dog poop to your sewer, find out if the water and waste management center can handle such pet waste. If they can’t, then you have to try other eco-friendly means on this post.
Conclusion
Clearing of dog poop is one task that many dog owners dread. Feeding or sheltering isn’t a problem for many dog owners, but the clearing of the dog poop is.
However, there are many eco-friendly and super easy ways to get rid of dog poop. And you won’t be harming the environment or putting anyone’s health at risk. We have highlighted some of these means of disposing of dog poop. Feel free to have a look and apply them. And thanks for stopping by.