Aww Crap! Why picking up after your pet is important for the environment

LIZ CHRISTIAN
Social Media and Marketing Specialist

You’ve probably heard over and over (and over) again that you should pick up after your pet when they poop. It’s, quite frankly, a crappy responsibility that comes with pet ownership, but it is one small, easy way to make a positive impact on your environment.

According to the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, there are about 391,000 dogs in Franklin County. You probably think “That many dogs can’t possibly produce that much solid waste.” Think again – those dogs produce about 147 tons of poop per day!

So why is picking up after your dog important for the environment?

For one, dog poop doesn’t break down on its own – it can take up to 12 months to fully break down. Plus, when the rain washes over dog poop, it flows into the drainage systems, taking all of the uncool bacteria and nutrients with it to nearby streams and creeks, not even pausing to stop at the wastewater treatment facilities (yuck). What are the uncool bacteria and nutrients you ask? Things like tapeworms, roundworms, E. Coli, Parvo, and more that we don’t want our pets or other wildlife to ingest. Think about all the animals that use our waterways (and even the people that wade and swim in them) and how these bacteria could make them seriously ill. Pet waste contains nutrients that encourage excess weed and algae growth as well, impacting the environment in the water for fish and other aquatic wildlife, but also making the water unattractive for swimming, boating or fishing.

Dog poop is also not a natural fertilizer. Since most dogs have a high protein diet, it actually has the reverse effect. Dog poop is high in nitrogen and phosphorus, making it highly acidic, so if you let the waste lay in the grass, it can cause burns in your lawn and kill your grass.

Some other fun poop facts:

• Wildlife, like deer and coyotes, don’t need to have their poop picked up after them because they are spread out over the land and not in concentrated areas, and also their diet consists of things already found in the wild, like berries and small game.
• Animal waste can attract rodents and the parasites that rodents harbor.
• Your dog’s waste can throw off the balance of an ecosystem, especially in populated areas. An ecosystem can handle about two dogs per square mile, but in many cities, there are close to 125 dogs per square mile.
• The EPA estimates that the average dog creates about a third of a pound of waste per day – or about 275 pounds per year! That’s a lot of dookie.

Picking up after your canine companion is just one easy way to contribute to a cleaner, fresher, happier environment for everybody!