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Dog Waste Can Create Safe Compost

New Guide Outlines Steps

Palmer, March 6, 2006 - As the Iditarod gets underway this week, dog enthusiasts will discuss training techniques, canine diets, strategy and gear.  But one aspect of dog racing, or dog ownership in general, gets very little attention – what do you do with all that poop?

A team of 16 sled dogs can produce more than 4,000 pounds of dog waste per year.  And as many municipalities and local parks authorities know, just one average-sized house dog can deposit more than 250 pounds of waste on an annual basis. 

Now, with the help of a new publication released by NRCS, dog owners can recycle dog waste into a safe and useful compost. “Composting Dog Waste” is a new publication released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District that provides step-by-step instruction on safely composting doggie doo.  It is available for download at www.ak.nrcs.usda.gov, or by calling 907-761-7760.

“Composting Dog Waste” combines the results of a 1991 study conducted with kennel owners in the Fairbanks area with more than a decade of additional experience. 

Using the methodologies outlined in “Composting Dog Waste,” one commercial kennel owner in Anchorage has reduced the amount of dog waste she sends to landfills by 50 percent.  She has also decreased her monthly trash bill and produced a rich compost product that she uses on her property.

Alaska dog owners who want specific information regarding composting should contact their local NRCS Field Office. NRCS has field offices in Anchorage, Bethel, Copper Center, Delta Junction, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Kenai, Kodiak, Nome, Palmer and Wasilla. Contact information for the 13 field offices in Alaska is available at www.ak.nrcs.usda.gov/contact/fieldoffices.html, or by calling 907-761-7760.

NRCS puts 70 years of experience to work in assisting people to conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. NRCS works in partnership with local conservation districts serves almost every county in the nation, and the Caribbean and Pacific Basin. Participation in our programs is voluntary.


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