Pooch poo in political spotlight

Civic politicians mull what to do with burgeoning amounts of canine byproduct

CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, March 08, 2007
NANAIMO -- The city may have to figure out what to do with its doggie doo. Nanaimo sends well over 400,000 small bags of dog excrement to landfill each year.

Parks manager Richard Harding said though the bags, found in most Nanaimo parks and along trailways, are biodegradable, they are simply tossed into a regular plastic garbage bag and hauled away with other trash.

"We know this issue is going to come up at some point," said Harding, of finding new ways to deal with the waste.

Nanaimo's 6,200 licensed dogs create their fair share of poop, but so far no disposal alternatives have been raised with the city.

Doggie doo was launched into the spotlight recently, after a Vancouver Park Board commissioner stepped in a pile of dog waste.

After some initial research, Spencer Herbert learned of a San Francisco pet waste diversion proposal that would use micro-organisms to consume the waste and use the emitted methane as a power source.

"I want park board staff to investigate what's going on elsewhere and come up with some solutions for our parks," Herbert told CanWest News Service.

"We may have to separate it at some point," Nanaimo's Harding said.

Gary Franssen, manager of sanitation and recycling, said depending on whether a dog is taking medication, the waste might not make the best compost.