What to Do with Doggie Doo?

I learned something today! Always a good day when that happens. While green cleaning, and listening to one of my favorite Podcasts from Itunes, "The Dog Trainer's Quick and Dirty Tips", Episode 008, I was suprised to learn about the environmental impact of our poochies poo!

Now, I had actually considered the fact that picking up dog poo with plastic bags and then throwing it in the trash probably wasn't the greenest way to do it. I mean, I could just imagine my dog's poop being forever "preserved" in a landfill somewhere and it gave me the creeps. So...I was thrilled when I found these biodegradable doggie bags at a pet store. They were pricey, considering their job, but I figured I needed to make this change.

Then "The Dog Trainer" explained how to decide what to do with the poo. In summary, she says that if your trash goes to a traditional landfill, it will be buried in an anaerobic environment and will not break down, likely, in our lifetime. Therefore, if I plan to throw the poo in the trash, and this is where it goes, there is no point in using those expensive "biodegradeable" bags that simply won't break down in a landfill, because virtually nothing does. And, of course, using regular plastic bags doesn't help things either. Why am I going to use a petroleum-based product for a task as remedial as handling doggie doo? Also, should the landfill fail to be air tight/water tight, the bacteria from the feces could escape into our ground water. Yuck! So, what are greener and safer options?

According to The Dog Trainer, if you have a backyard, you may be able to incorporate it into your composte and use on non-food plants in your yard. However, you have to check with local ordinances to see if this is even allowed. The simplest, best way (and I could kick myself for not thinking of it) is to do the same thing with the dog poo as we'd do with our own - FLUSH IT down the toilet. Use common sense, and not too much at once and not the petrified (hardened) stuff. You can use trash paper or a scooper to pick it up and toss it in the bowl. The toilet water goes to a waste treatment plant meant for handling this kind of waste, without harming the environment or the health of the community.