Composting dog poo

We all use plastic bags to pick up our dog’s poo when out and about, but when you’re looking at living more sustainably, that’s a challenging idea. Find out more about how else you can deal with your dog’s poo, rather than sending it to landfill.

If you’re composting dog poo, remember that it can’t be used on any vegetable garden or fruit trees – ornamental gardens only!

At home | Out and about

At home

Photo of young dog standing on a road looking into weeds in the verge

Pet waste disposal systems are available online, and some work like a mini septic tank that you bury in your backyard. Have a look around online, but some examples are:

  • EnsoPet Pet Waste Composting Kit – available from Zing Bokashi. This uses the same principles as traditional bokashi, with an enzyme sprinkled over to help poo break down. Zing Bokashi recommends that no bags are used with this system, even if they’re certified home compostable.
  • Bury a bucket (with the bottom cut out) in your garden, and use this to compost your dog’s poo underground. Find all the details at the Compost Collective.

Workshops

We run occasional workshops on how to build a dog poo composter. These will display below when scheduled. 

Out and about

We all know that this is the big one – how do you pick up your dog’s poo and get it home from your walk, without using a new plastic bag?

A good option is to reuse your old bread bags, vegetable bags, chip bags and cereal bags to pick up after your dog.

Reusable bags, tins and scoopers need to be thoroughly washed in hot water every time.

There is a risk to human health with using alternatives to plastic bags, so you’ll need to be careful to make sure your “scooper” is free of pathogens.

Some ideas include:

  • Use a tin with lid or small plastic container and keep inside a bag with tongs to collect poo while out walking.
  • Get a pooper scooper that includes a lid, or make your own out of an old bottle.
  • Scoop it up in newspaper, paper towel or reuse a paper bag. Pop it into a washable wet-bag and discard the newspaper/paper parcel separately at home.