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More than a nuisance
Dog waste is a recognized pollutant that
is unsightly, smelly, and potentially
contains disease-causing pathogens. The
U. S. pet population is now outpacing
the human population. According to a recent
survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers
Association, 63% of all American households
own pets - up from 56% in 1988. 74.8 million
dogs are now introducing 10M tons per
year into the U.S. ecosystem.
What do you do with it?
Toilets and sanitary sewage treatment
have provided modern man with a workable
solution to human waste disposal. But
there is no effective, broadly-implemented
solution to eliminating the problem of
dog waste. At this point, dog owners,
shelters, kennels, breeders, pet shops,
municipalities, and pick-up services are
left to their own resources. 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.
Landfills = waste in perpetuity
Half of the dog waste in urban corridors
is dumped into garbage bins which are
emptied into landfills The trash option
usually involves plastic bags which can
take centuries to degrade while the waste
inside is mummified for posterity. The
landfills themselves are a disaster waiting
to happen.
The Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources states: "Current
landfill designs and practices do not
provide for degradation of landfilled
organic wastes within a defined and reasonable
timeframe. Undegraded organic wastes
can potentially cause future environmental
or economic impacts if the landfill gas
and leachate collection and containment
systems (cap and/or liner) fail at some
time in the future. Potential economic
burdens and environmental risks associated
with these undegraded wastes will be
largely borne by future generations."
According to the
U. S. Geological Survey,
"
landfills are designed to minimize
contamination of ground water, but modern
landfills eventually may leak contaminants
into the environment."
Across the country, landfills are topping
out, raising rates, and losing favor as
a solution for the 230 million tons of solid
waste generated in the U. S. annually. Ecologically
savvy communities are looking for innovative
ways to divert waste from landfills.
Letting nature take its course
Roughly 40% of all
dog owners do not "stoop
and scoop." Don't kid yourself -
dog waste does not gracefully embrace
the ecosystem. If left intact, it can
take more than a year to break down.
Until then it poses a health threat to
people and pets. Unlike wild animals
that actually help propagate forests
with their thinly deposited scat, domesticated
dogs leave waste behind in proximity
to human activity. The resulting nuisance
factors are obvious.
Dog waste can quickly turn any outdoor
area into a site unfit for humans. In
addition to the mess and smell, the high
nitrogen level of raw waste kills grass
and other plant materials. If left on
concrete, the waste runs off intact into
storm sewers and contaminates waterways.
Recent studies indicate
that dogs are third or fourth on the
list of contributors to bacteria in contaminated
waters, increasing the potential for
serious diseases, including cholera and
dysentery. In addition to threats to
humans, bacteria that feed on dog waste
deplete oxygen, killing native aquatic
life. They are also feed "algae blooms"
which block sunlight and suffocate fish.
Read more
How
Do Landfills Work?
Dog
Waste Poses Threat to Water, USA Today
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