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IRiSHMaFIA
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Joined: 29 Apr 2006
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 Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:33 am Post subject: Toronto's scoop on too much dog poop |
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TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto bylaws requiring dog walkers to "stoop and scoop" are yielding an unmanageable amount of poop in park trash bins.
An auditor's report this week showed that up to 27 per cent of all garbage collected from city parks is pet poop.
"It's no big secret that people take their animals to the parks and leave behind plastic bags of poop in the trash," Toronto parks and environment committee chairwoman Paula Fletcher said on Wednesday. "But the amount was a bit of a shocker."
"In the summertime, when the cans can are overflowing with plastic bags full of dog poo and it's hot out . . . the smell is really terrible," she said.
The solution is to put "green bins" in every city park, Fletcher said. Green bins are special recycling bins used to separate organic waste from traditional recyclables such as tin and glass.
But only four of Toronto's hundreds of city parks have green bins and there is little money in the city budget to add more. That leaves pet owners with little recourse but to throw their pet waste in the regular trash.
"Wherever possible, we're asking people to take the poo home with them and dispose of it in their own green bins," Fletcher said.
According to the auditor's report, bagged pet waste from Toronto's city parks accounts for as much as 2,500 tonnes of landfill every year.
By diverting three-quarters of it, the parks department could meet this year's goal of diverting 60 percent of its waste from landfill.
"Whatever we do, the cleanliness of our parks will be No. 1," Fletcher said. "Figuring out what to do with No. 2 will be, well, No. 2."
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| Quote: | | "Whatever we do, the cleanliness of our parks will be No. 1," Fletcher said. "Figuring out what to do with No. 2 will be, well, No. 2." |
I thought that line was funny  Sounds like Toronto is really full of shit! |
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eefanincan
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Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Full of shit indeed! What the hell.... are you supposed to just put the bag in your pocket until you get home? I find it hard to believe that they can't afford to put these green bins in all of the parks---- I'm sure they could find some budget cuts somewhere else. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to ban dogs actually going out for a walk |
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maycm
'cheeky banana'
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 4:20 pm Post subject: |
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A related story. Vancouver does things better it seems.
| Quote: | VANCOUVER–The problem was immediate and unquestionable: dog poop on his shoe, but the solution didn't come to Vancouver park board commissioner Spencer Herbert until he was wiping it off.
"At first I was angry, and then as I was cleaning, I thought, how do we deal with this better?" said Herbert. "We think just throwing it out in the garbage means we're done with it."
Herbert said yesterday he began questioning why all the dog waste in Vancouver should go to waste. Responsible owners picked up their dog droppings in plastic bags to throw away, and the irresponsible just left it on the grass or sidewalk.
He soon discovered San Francisco was pondering the same problem and looking at the possibility of turning dog waste into bio-fuels to heat homes.
The proposal in California is still in its pre-planning stage with a feasibility study, but Herbert would like to see the idea take form in Vancouver. Dog waste would be collected at neighbourhood drop-off spots and deposited in a vat for bacteria to digest, leaving methane gas as the end result. The methane could then be used to heat and light park washrooms or greenhouses.
Herbert said his preliminary research shows turning dog waste into some type of usable energy can be done with technology that already exists, but the question is whether pet owners would co-operate.
Dealing with the dog waste in a city with 60,000 dogs is a big task.
Last month, Herbert's proposal that the park board prepare a report on environmentally friendly disposal was rejected by a majority of commissioners. But Herbert is determined and trying to gather public support to force the issue back before the board.
Park board chair Ian Robertson said the commissioner's proposal to study sustainable disposal is redundant because a city dog task force is already considering ideas.
One pilot project is a dog composting system in a Vancouver park.
"We're looking at the issue already and we're letting the task force do its job. I get more emails as a commissioner about dogs than on any other issue. Non-dog owners tell me that we're too lenient on dogs and dog owners say we don't have enough parks for dogs. There are valid points on both sides."
As the father of two soccer goalie players, Robertson said he knows the agony of watching his sons attempt a save only to fall in dog poop.
Harnessing dog waste into some form of energy may be far down the line, but he said composting poop is in the works.
City Farmer, a non-profit organization that promotes urban agriculture and composting initiatives, has started a dog waste composting demonstration.
Executive director Michael Levenston said City Farmer set up the demo because so many people want to know how to dispose of dog waste.
A bin is buried down a hole, flush with the surface, with the bottom cut out and holes on its side. Dog waste is deposited inside along with septic powder and decomposes naturally.
"We were answering a call," Levenston said. "People are very enthusiastic."
Anything has got to be better than the present system, said Jim Heeps, Vancouver's superintendent of street cleaning.
The 11,800 kilograms of dog waste produced each year is too much for garbage collectors. Vancouver's landfill specifically bans dog and human waste, but Heeps said people still keep loading up the garbage cans.
City staff advise dog owners to take dog-doo home to flush down toilets, but Heeps said sewer crews don't like that idea. "If there's a use for it somehow, that would be the best solution. Someone's just got to come up with the idea of how to do that."
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eefanincan
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Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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I must admit that I didn't realize dog poop was such big problem.... but then, my dog is only 10 lbs....... I might feel differntly if he was 80 lbs  |
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Kezza
Gone To The Dogs!
Joined: 30 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 4:55 am Post subject: |
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Lucky you, eefan! My 2 German Shepherd pups (now 11 months old) are weighing in at 70+ lbs each (and they won't be full grown for another 5-6 months!).
I swear I think that they're 'part elephant' sometimes, especially when I'm on poop-scoop duty (or should I say "doodie" ?). Multiply that by 2 or 3 times per day, and you've got yerself a lotta poop!!! |
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eefanincan
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Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:35 am Post subject: |
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| Kezza wrote: | Lucky you, eefan! My 2 German Shepherd pups (now 11 months old) are weighing in at 70+ lbs each (and they won't be full grown for another 5-6 months!).
I swear I think that they're 'part elephant' sometimes, especially when I'm on poop-scoop duty (or should I say "doodie" ?). Multiply that by 2 or 3 times per day, and you've got yerself a lotta poop!!! |
Indeed! That's a lot of poop for sure! Believe me, that was one consideration before we got our dog. And now, it's time to let him outside for....... well, you know. |
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