A Colorado initiative

DOGGONE GOOD COMPOST™ production will begin in late Summer 2008 at a commercial composting site North of Denver, Colorado. Initially dog waste from the Broomfield County Commons Dog Park, the City of Westminster Dog Park at 105th and Simms, Pet Scoop Services and Muttley's Maid, Inc. will be combined with a carbon source and commercially composted, cured, tested and bagged. Waste collection, composting, distribution and sales will be limited to Boulder and Weld counties to minimize transport. The finished product will be sold in early Spring 2009 at local retail outlets.

Composting reduces the volume of dog waste by approximately 50%, so a large amount of raw material will be needed for production. For this reason, "contributions" by municipalities, nonprofit shelters, kennels, and pick-up services will be essential.

Participation and benefits

EnviroWagg will welcome large volume waste from dog parks! Communities will not only be ridding themselves of an unwanted mess. Collecting dog waste in public areas for the purpose of composting offers opportunities to

• educate constituents about sustainability and local environment issues,
• encourage participation in other local recycling programs,
• motivate dog owners to pick up after their pets,
• support the use of compostable bags and responsible disposal, and
• defuse antagonism between dog owners and non-dog owners by keeping public spaces clean.

Shelters, kennels and pick-up services that contribute their dog waste are showing their supporters, clients and customers that they take responsibility for a safe, clean, sustainable environment. When drop-off locations for "clean" waste are established, locations will be listed at this website.

What is "clean" waste?

Only "clean" dog waste is acceptable for composting. Waste mixed with trash and plastic pick-up bags cannot be adequately composted because petroleum-based plastic bags do not biodegrade. This inorganic material would overwhelm the normal screening process and leach unwanted metals and other chemicals into the product. EnviroWagg's goal is to produce a quality product that is free of contaminents.

In order to meet this requirement, groups and individuals who want to contribute dog waste for composting will need to

• maintain separate receptacles for dog waste and trash and affix signage to avoid mixing
• collect only dog waste that is bagless or
• use and deposit only these two types of commercial doggie pick-up bags: 1) EcoSafe pick-up bags (compatable with composting) available through Dirt Works in Vermont or 2) certified 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable BioBags distributed locally by Eco-Products in Boulder and Wild Organics in Niwot (when ordering online from Wild Organics, enter the discount code EW10 at check out for a 10% discount); newspaper (not plastic newspaper bags) and paper bags are also acceptable for pick-up and deposit.

All recycling requires planning and effort and this project is no exception. But doing the right thing is its own reward.

"Throwing something away can be fun, let's admit it; but giving a guilt free gift to the natural world is an incomparable pleasure." Cradle to Cradle / Remaking the Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, North Point Press, 2002

If you are interested in contributing dog waste for composting, contact envirowagg@comcast.net for details.