|
Services
>
Drainage & Sewer
>
Keep Water Safe & Clean
Pet Waste Disposal
Clean water tips
How can you get rid of pet waste and help keep our waters clean?
- • Scoop it up and flush it down the toilet. That's best because then your community sewage treatment plant or your septic system treats the pet waste
- • Seal the waste in a plastic bag and throw it in the garbage.
- • Bury small quantities in your yard where it can decompose slowly. Dig a hole one foot deep. Put three to four inches of waste at the bottom of the hole. Cover the waste with at least eight inches of soil. Bury the waste in several different locations in your yard and keep it away from vegetable gardens.
- • Use commercially available compost or make your own using garden waste. Mixing compost with your soil means your plants will need less chemical fertilizer and puts your waste to good use. Commercial compost and soil amendments may be available from your solid waste or wastewater utility as well as your local garden store.
- • To find out more about the problems of pet waste and what you can do to prevent water pollution, call the number of your local community listed below.
What's the problem with pet waste?
It's a health risk to pets and people, especially children. It's a nuisance in our neighborhoods.
Pet waste is full of bacteria that can make people sick. If it's washed into the storm drain and ends up in a lake, stream or marine water, the bacteria ends up in shellfish. People who eat those shellfish can get very sick.
The waste produced by Seattle's dogs and cats is about what a city the size of Renton or Kennewick, about 50,000 people, would produce. Unless people take care of it, the waste enters our water with no treatment.
Related links
Composting
Animal Excrement
|
|
