With garbage dumps becoming full it has become very important to find an alternative to simply tossing your pet's waste into the trash. I have always liked the idea of composting my pet's waste, but didn't want to add it to my garden compost. That is why I decided to build a separate composter specifically for doggy doo. I had originally planned to purchase a dog waste composter, but quickly realized that I need a much bigger one than is on the market in order to handle all of the waste from my 70 lb. Labrador Retriever. Big dog, Big poop, Big composter. I decided to create this Instructable to help others deal with their pets waste in an environmentally sound manner.
Tools & Materials: All that you will need to build a waste composter is a shovel, a saw, a drill, 4" pvc pipe, and a vessel of some sort.
First find your vessel. I decided to use a salvaged plastic 55-gallon barrel and give it a third life. A 5-gallon bucket or a trash can would work if you have a small dog. Rather than recycling the barrel I simply reused it. I got it from our local coffee roaster and used it as a leaf composter for a couple years. Be careful that you don't use a barrel that may have had toxic chemicals in it. Mine used to be full of French vanilla flavoring. That stuff is fairly harmless.
I have also entered this Instructable in the Epilog Challenge, so please remember to vote.
Tools & Materials: All that you will need to build a waste composter is a shovel, a saw, a drill, 4" pvc pipe, and a vessel of some sort.
First find your vessel. I decided to use a salvaged plastic 55-gallon barrel and give it a third life. A 5-gallon bucket or a trash can would work if you have a small dog. Rather than recycling the barrel I simply reused it. I got it from our local coffee roaster and used it as a leaf composter for a couple years. Be careful that you don't use a barrel that may have had toxic chemicals in it. Mine used to be full of French vanilla flavoring. That stuff is fairly harmless.
I have also entered this Instructable in the Epilog Challenge, so please remember to vote.
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Signing UpStep 1: Preparing the Vessel
Take your vessel and drill holes everywhere except the top and bottom. Any bit size ranging between 1/4-inch and 3/4-inch will suffice. The holes need to be large enough to allow air to reach your composter, but not large enough to allow soil to fall through.
If you are using a barrel you will need to cut the top off. The open end will become the bottom of the compster. This will increase the surface area that is exposed to the soil and allow rain water to drain easily.
Next cut a circular hole into what will be the top of your composter. I cut a 4-inch hole into mine because I decided to use a 4-inch inside diameter (ID) pvc pipe as the access port for my composter. It's good to have a hole large enough to allow the dog waste to fall into the vessel without the need of a push-stick. The 4-inch ID pvc fits perfectly over the 4-inch hole without the danger of falling in. I was able to find a waste cut piece of pipe that was headed for the dumpster.
If you are using a barrel you will need to cut the top off. The open end will become the bottom of the compster. This will increase the surface area that is exposed to the soil and allow rain water to drain easily.
Next cut a circular hole into what will be the top of your composter. I cut a 4-inch hole into mine because I decided to use a 4-inch inside diameter (ID) pvc pipe as the access port for my composter. It's good to have a hole large enough to allow the dog waste to fall into the vessel without the need of a push-stick. The 4-inch ID pvc fits perfectly over the 4-inch hole without the danger of falling in. I was able to find a waste cut piece of pipe that was headed for the dumpster.
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im about to have my own house with a backyard. Finally.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5490180_make-own-septic-system-treatment.html
What do you guys do with the products from cats? I've had to stop them half-burying it where I am trying to grow a lawn (wire mesh), and they don't seem to be very adept at the burying concept anyway - they just seem to dig a hole, dump 3 or 4 inches away, and then dig another hole but miss the first hole with the diggings!
The UK BaconSalt Man
http://www.crazy4flavour.co.uk
I'm going to try this with cat poo.
After a while my mom saw me do it & totally yelled at me.
I couldnt understand why. :)
Beautiful how that works, no?
That's why the world isn't covered 3' deep in dinosaur doo-doo.
May I suggest, though, that In your next iteration of this design, don't bury it so deep ... and make holes in the top few inches to accommodate ordinary earthworms, too.
I have a big lab and we bring it inside but our water bill has doubled. He goes too much to try and dispose of it otherwise.
http://parksparkproject.com/home.html
This would work for any animals waste, correct?
Just to scoop out the poo once a day and put it in the composter?
Please keep in mind that I do not intend to remove the contents and certainly don't plan to put it on a garden. Although there may be nothing wrong with dong so. If it becomes full I may move it to a new location.
You might want to consider setting up something like a compost toilet. I think Mother Earth News or Cottage magazine had good instructions for building your own, or there might even be some here. Once composted via this method, the results could then be used in the garden.
Very interesting dialogue and info exchange. Has anyone tried this method with cat poo? A litter box by any other name is still a litter box, but it would be great to keep the resulting poo out of the landfills.
Though I could imagine it would be illegal in some cities, as it would be considered a septic tank. You can't have a septic tank that doesn't meet local specs and hasn't been inspected. Just don't tell anyone about it.
Do you have to water it each week to keep the bacteria alive? The bacteria is what breaks down the doody.
i wish i could do something like that... but i live in an apartment.