How to Build Your Own Pet Waste Composter
An Odour Free Way to Keep Your Dog’s Poop Out of Landfills
Nov 10, 2008
There are two ways to get rid of your pet waste: Throwing it in the garbage, where it will go to a landfill, or using it as compost in your yard – buried well away from edible food crops. The latter method is recommended for people who have regular access to a garden or yard, and want to reduce their carbon footprint.
Making a backyard pet composter has the added advantage of greening your soil without spreading disease or stink throughout your neighbourhood. The Green Victoria Compost Education Centre adds that burying pet waste in a trench helps avoid attracting rodents and insects if you bury them at least 45cm/18” underground. Don’t plant food crops above the trench; plant ornamental plants instead.
Compost Pet Waste Safely
Never add pet waste to your food or regular use compost. Dog or cat feces biodegrade slower than plant matter, and often run a risk for E. Coli bacteria, or at the very least, attracts flies.
By making a separate, clearly labelled pet waste composter that is far from garden beds and access to children, the pet waste can biodegrade safely, with the use of septic tank enzymes. According to The Urban Farmer website, one pet waste compost bin can safely last several years.
For those without the needed space for a pet waste compost bin, another option may be “Trenching”, simply burying pet waste in soil with some septic starter, such as Septonic®.
How to Trench Your Pets’ Waste
- Dig a hole or trench in your garden 45-60cm (18-24") deep and as wide and long as is practical – a shovel’s width is usually fine. Pile the soil up beside your trench.
- Fill the bottom 15 cm (6") of your trench with your nutrient-rich food waste and organic materials, and fill in the hole with the excavated soil. Make sure the materials are quite moist before you bury them.
- Top with a layer of organic mulch material (i.e. leaves or straw). Alternatively, you can also sow a cover crop to protect the soil from the elements and suppress weeds in the time it takes for the trenched materials to decompose.
How to Build a Pet Waste Composer
- Choose a site well away from vegetable gardens and water sources like streams or wells. A site in full sunlight is ideal; it will help with the biodegrading process.
- Get a strong plastic bin or tub that holds at least 8 liters. Cut a hold in the bottom for drainage.
- Dig a hole that is 5 cm wider than your bin, and 5 to 10 cm deeper than your bin: This will be for the gravel filling.
- Place the gravel below the bin, and put your bin on top of it. Pour gravel around the bin, so that there will be drainage around the bin as well.
- Clean up around the area, by planting ornamental shrubs or flowers, replacing topsoil where some was removed during the digging phase.
- Add your dog’s poop, or your cat’s clay free/silica-free used cat litter and add septic starter.
- Put the lid on your composter. This will prevent flies or rodents from getting in.
Further Resources for Eco-Friendly Pet Waste Disposal
- Fact Sheet on Trench Composting, published by The Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre.
- City Farmer’s web site: Sharon Slack’s Dog waste Composter
