Potential problems with the wastes of household pets, particularly dogs and cats, and suggestions for minimizing them, are described

Cox, Linda J.

Evensen, Carl

Robotham, Michael

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Cooperative Extension Service Hawaii’s Pollution Prevention InformationAugust 2000HAPPI-Home 16When you think of water pollution, you probablydo not think of your pet. However, if pet wastesare disposed of incorrectly, they can cause water pollu-tion. More than half of all U.S. households own a dog,cat, or other pet. Although each household only gener-ates a small amount of pet waste, these small amountscan add up to a water quality problem. This worksheetis designed for households that have a few, small ani-mals. If you have a large number of animals in one place,such as a dog kennel, or if you keep large animals suchas horses, please refer to HAPPI-Farm 7 on livestockmanagement and HAPPI-Farm 8 on pasture manage-ment for additional information.Droppings from dogs and cats and other commonlykept animals including exotic birds, rabbits, goats, pot-bellied pigs, and chickens can cause two kinds of prob-lems.First, pet wastes contain nutrients that can promotethe growth of algae if they enter streams and the ocean.Algal blooms change the color of streams and the oceanso you don’t want to swim in the water. Algae can alsoclog streams and destroy habitat for aquatic organisms,such as fish.Second, animal droppings are a source of pests anddisease. Pets, children playing outside, and adults gar-dening are most at risk for infection from some of thebacteria and parasites found in pet waste. Flies may alsospread diseases from animal waste. Diseases that can betransmitted from pet waste to humans include leptospiro-sis, campylobacteriosis, salmonellocis, and toxoplasmo-sis. Although none of these diseases are common inHawaii, leptospirosis is spread by waste from wild ani-mals including rats and mongooses. In some neighbor-hoods where many dogs are kept, the dog-dung fly canbe an annoying problem.Pet Waste ManagementPet waste will seldom cause water pollution if youtake these simple precautions:• Clean up waste in areas near water bodies, ditches,and storm drains.• Don’t allow pet waste to accumulate in pens.• Don’t leave pet waste on a sidewalk, street, or drive-way where it can be washed into storm drains.• Always clean up after your pet. In Honolulu, if youdo not clean up after your pet, you can be given aticket and required to pay a fine.There are three easy ways that you can dispose ofpet waste and minimize water pollution risks:• Flush it down the toilet. To prevent plumbing prob-lems, don’t flush debris such as rocks, sticks and catlitter; dispose of these in the trash.• Put it in the trash. Be sure to put your pest waste in aclosed, tied trash bag so that it will not spill duringtrash collection.• If you have a yard, you can bury your pet waste. Diga hole or trench that is about 5 inches deep in an areaaway from streams or drainage ditches. Put the wastein the hole and cover it with dirt. The waste will breakdown and release nutrients that will help your plants.But, you need to be careful. To prevent disease, don’tbury pet waste near vegetable gardens, and don’t addpet waste to your compost pile. Most small house-hold compost piles do not get hot enough to kill thedisease organisms that might be found in pet waste.Assessing your risksComplete the risk assessment table on page 2 to deter-mine the water pollution risks from your pets’ wastes.For each category, choose the set of practices that bestfits your situation. Then, at the bottom of page 2, de-velop an action plan to minimize water pollution hazard.Published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Andrew G. Hashimoto, Director/Dean, Cooperative Extension Service/CTAHR, Universityof Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Institution providing programs and services to the people of Hawaii withoutregard to race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, sexual orientation, or veteran status.CTAHR publications can be found on the Web site <http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu> or ordered by calling 808-956-7046 or sending e-mail to ctahrpub@hawaii.edu.HAPPI-Home 16 Hawaii’s Pollution Prevention Information CTAHR — Dec. 20002Cleaning upafter my petWaste disposalPet lives inside or infenced yard; and I alwaysclean up after my pet inpublic areasPet wastes are flusheddown the toilet; or buriedaway from gardens, wells,ditches, and areas wherechildren play; or wrappedand placed in the garbagefor disposal❏ low❏ moderate❏ high❏ low❏ moderate❏ highI clean up after my pet inpublic areas most of thetimePet wastes are left todecompose on grass orsoil. Wastes are scatteredover a wide areaI seldom clean up after mypet in public areasPet wastes are left onpaved surfaces,concentrated in the pen oryard areas, or dumpeddown a storm drain or intoa ditchLow risk Your riskHigh riskModerate riskRisk Assessment Table for Pet Waste ManagementYour action planNow that you have assessed your management practices, you can take action to change practices that may be causingwater pollution. For areas that you identified as high or moderate risk, decide what action you need to take and fillout the Action Plan below.What can you do to reduce thepotential risk for water pollution?Set a target datefor actionWrite down all your moderate-risk andhigh-risk activities below   Samples of action items:Pet wastes are left on the sidewalkand in the drivewayCollect and bury the wastesin an appropriate locationNext time wastesare depositedThis HAPPI document was adapted by Michael Robotham, Carl Evensen, and Linda J. Cox from Pet waste and water quality,by Jennifer Hill and Carolyn Johnson, University of Wisconsin Extension Publication GWO006 and includes information fromStormwater management by Carl DuPoldt and Carolyn Johnson, Chapter 2, pp. 15–22 in Home•A•Syst: An environmental riskassessment guide for the home developed by the National Farm•A•Syst / Home•A•Syst Program. Permission to use thesematerials was granted by the National Farm•A•Syst / Home•A•Syst Office. HAPPI-Home materials are produced by the Hawaii’sPollution Prevention Information (HAPPI) project (Farm•A•Syst / Home•A•Syst for Hawaii) of the University of Hawaii Col-lege of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH-CTAHR) and the USDA Cooperative Extension Service (USDA-CES). Funding for the program is provided by a U.S. EPA 319(h) grant administered by the Hawaii State Department of Health.

Pet Waste Management

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Pet Waste Management

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