29-05-2004, 07:02 PM
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Dog feces in compost?
Glenna Rose wrote:
writes:
Brigitte J. said:
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is dog poop OK in the compost
bin?
If it's your own dog who licks you, sits on you, and basically 'shares'
himself
and whatever he may have inside him with you, and your compost is made
in hot batches it would probably be OK.
Not everyone who has a dog "shares" with the dog. There are still some of
us who don't allow the dog on furniture, etc., and licking by the dog is
confined to the hands or arms (of the human), which are frequently washed.
(I've never licked my own hands after the dog has! Nor do I eat afterward
without washing). Also, there is a huge difference between saliva (and
what it may carry) and poop (and what it certainly carries!) . . . after
all, most people would not object to a kiss from a young child but
certainly don't want child poop distributed in the same way.
My point is that poop/feces has bacteria, etc., in it that is there
because of the digestive process and what the animal has eaten . . .
things that are definitely not in the same dog's "kisses." Yes, I know a
dog licks itself, but that "material" is significantly changed immediately
by the saliva in the dog's mouth. Saliva and poop are *not* the same!
It's not even an option to put this crap (literally) on the garden (even
through composting which may or may not be hot enough at any particular
time) because you are not the only person who might eat from that garden.
A principal that I always use is to consider the youngest eater of the
garden, which in this case is my granddaughters, and consider what even
minute amounts of something might do to their tiny bodies which have less
body mass to fight toxins/bacteria/bad guys as well as smaller and less
effective immune systems. Something that has not been mentioned in all
this discussion of human/predator manure is the extremely and tragically
high childhood death rate in countries which do routinely use it (for lack
of better). That is very definitely only one factor, but it is a factor.
Certainly, we, living in this country or even signified by the fact we
have computers (designating a different access to resources), are not
required to use potentially dangerous/harmful elements for fertilizer for
our very survival. While fertilizer is sold by many cities after
processing waste through the sewage treatment plants, it is not the same
as can be done by an individual. For 15 years, my husband worked on site
at a plant during expansion construction . . . trust me, *no* common
nasties can survive what they do to the sludge! And there is absolutely
no way that we can begin to process feces as effectively, short of buying
hospital grade sterilizing equipment . . . there is a reason they call it
"cooking" and refer to a step in the process as "roast turkey." The
discussions here about how to make it "safe" have bordered on amusing to
those who have some familiarity of the entire process of using sewage
waste for fertilizer . . . it isn't a simple matter of loading it and
trucking it to your garden.
Okay, I have that "off my chest" for now. It's time to go pull weeds after
our downpours of the last couple of days!
Glenna
who knew there was a reason to
put off preparing the new beds
for the last of the purchased plants
You're overreacting, bigtime. Do you allow children to play in the
grass where maybe a dog has shit when you weren't looking? (BTW, the
risk with dog waste is parasites much more than it is bacteria.)
And that sewage sludge you mentioned may contain toxin metals that are
definately not cooked out.
Best regards,
Bob -- supposed to be out gardening, but it's raining again.
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