Community: Picking Up After Pets

In a city as pet-friendly as ours, where dogs are just as regular at local coffee shops as their parents (no, we don't call them "owners" here), there is one problem. A recent campaign to encourage Austinites to pick up after their pooches has shed some light on the fact that pet waste has been increasing bacteria levels in our water. Enter the "Scoop the Poop, Austin!" campaign...

The water pollution definitely worries us; so we'll go ahead and side with the city to say that yes! Folks really need to pick up after their pets! Widely available plastic poop bags aren't the only answer for accomplishing this, though. Here are a few of our greenest ways to deal with your pet's waste:

• Compost it for use on non-edible plants
• Set up a mini-septic tank for Fido
• Turn to biodegradeable poop bags--they're by far better than their plastic counterparts

(Image: Austin Green Art)

Comments (2)

Is there a counter argument either than 'I'm to lazy'?

posted by Hollie on October 15th 2009 at 3:28pm
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Thanks for raising awareness about this issue and suggestions for green options. We agree that it is important to dispose of pet waste responsibly, especially in densely populated urban areas.

posted by fairmountdogstories on October 17th 2009 at 10:40pm
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