The Other Waste Issue: Why Dog Waste Matters
- Kimberly Worsham
- Oct 15
- 5 min read
In the water and sanitation sector, we spend considerable time discussing human waste management—and for good reason. But there's another waste stream we can't afford to ignore: the 48,000 pounds of dog waste produced daily in just one city like Anchorage, Alaska. As more people welcomed four-legged family members during COVID and beyond, the issue of pet care has only grown more pressing.
The simple truth? Dog waste isn't just an aesthetic problem. It's an environmental and public health challenge that deserves the same serious attention we give to human sanitation systems.
The Hidden Health Risks
Dog waste carries the same dangerous pathogens we worry about in human waste: E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Parvovirus, roundworms, and hookworms. These aren't just threats to other dogs—they can make humans seriously ill. When dog waste isn't properly managed, these pathogens inevitably find their way into our waterways, creating the same contamination risks we work so hard to prevent with human waste.
The CDC reports that dog waste produces nearly twice as much bacteria as human waste. That's a staggering figure that should give us pause.
In water-dependent communities—from Alaska's marine tourism industry to Santa Cruz's surfing culture to New York City's harbor restoration efforts—unmanaged dog waste threatens both environmental health and economic vitality. A study conducted in Italy’s Sardinia examined the health concerns associated with tourism, particularly the widespread presence of dog waste.
When Systems Fail
Walk through any major city—Paris, New York, San Francisco, London, Chicago—and you'll see the evidence of our inadequate systems. Dog waste left on streets creates immediate health hazards and water quality threats. When rain hits these areas, that waste flows directly into storm drains, then into creeks, rivers, and coastal waters.
The environmental impacts mirror those of untreated human waste: fish kills, algal blooms, and contaminated recreational waters. For communities that depend on clean waterways for tourism, fishing, or recreation, this isn't just an environmental issue—it's an economic one.
The Imperfect Solutions We Have
Currently, pet owners face three main options: leave it (the worst choice), bag it and trash it, or flush it. Each comes with significant drawbacks that highlight gaps in our waste management infrastructure.
Bagging and trashing is the most common approach, but it's far from ideal. Those plastic bags end up in landfills where they decompose slowly, generating methane—a potent greenhouse gas. Even biodegradable bags don't solve this problem; in oxygen-poor landfill conditions, they can't properly decompose. Some estimates suggest pet waste comprises up to 12% of landfill content, representing a massive missed opportunity for better resource management.
Flushing offers an alternative endorsed by some municipalities, which allows dog waste to enter wastewater treatment systems designed to handle pathogen-rich waste. The EPA actually endorses this approach. However, this method wastes precious freshwater—a concerning trade-off in water-scarce regions—and many pet owners remain unaware that this option exists.
Leaving it remains the most environmentally damaging choice, yet it persists even in cities with robust enforcement. New York's Pooper Scooper Law from the 1970s carries $250 fines and represents the country's most enforced legislation of its kind, yet compliance remains inconsistent.
What About Composting: Here's where the infrastructure gap becomes most apparent: while rural areas can sometimes use USDA guidelines for on-site dog waste composting, urban pet owners have few options. Commercial composting facilities across the US refuse pet waste due to contamination concerns, temperature requirements, and regulatory restrictions.
This represents a significant missed opportunity. Properly composted dog waste could become a valuable soil amendment for landscaping and revegetation projects, similar to how we've developed beneficial uses for biosolids from human waste treatment. The USDA's existing guidelines prove this is technically feasible, yet the infrastructure to scale this solution remains absent.
The Regulatory Patchwork
The current US regulatory landscape reflects our sector's broader challenge with coordinating waste management across jurisdictions. The US Clean Water Act implies protections against dog waste contamination, but specific regulations typically fall to local ordinances. These local rules vary dramatically in scope, enforcement, and public awareness.
U.S. states don’t necessarily have laws; instead, they rely on local ordinances to address dog waste management. Some cities treat improper disposal as littering violations. Others focus on trespassing when waste ends up on private property. Fees are variable and not always enforced, even in the most diligent areas. This patchwork approach means pet owners often lack clear guidance about proper disposal methods, and enforcement remains inconsistent across communities.
This isn’t just a US problem – France has been tackling dog poo issues for years in its regulatory landscape. And other countries are grappling with the issue as their dog populations grow.
While US cities like Anchorage and Santa Cruz highlight signage and some offer private waste management services for backyards, these solutions address symptoms rather than systemic gaps. Even well-intentioned pet owners struggle with inadequate infrastructure and unclear guidance about best practices.
The high nitrogen and ammonia content in dog waste means improper backyard disposal can damage soil and grass health—creating additional environmental problems even when pet owners attempt responsible management. This technical complexity underscores why individual responsibility alone isn't sufficient.
A Climate-Smart Opportunity
From a climate perspective, addressing dog waste represents accessible progress on multiple fronts. Better management reduces methane emissions from landfills, prevents water contamination that requires energy-intensive remediation, and could create beneficial soil amendments that support carbon sequestration through revegetation projects.
For cities prioritizing environmental health and climate action, dog waste management offers a concrete step that directly benefits community health while demonstrating broader environmental stewardship.
Building Better Systems
The parallels to human waste management are striking. Just as we've developed sophisticated wastewater treatment systems, collection networks, and beneficial reuse programs for human waste, we need similar innovation for pet waste management. This could include expanding municipal composting programs to accept pet waste, developing neighborhood-scale treatment systems, improving public education about flushing protocols where appropriate, or creating incentives for better disposal practices.
Some communities already demonstrate leadership in this space. Cities that depend on clean waterways for economic vitality—from coastal tourism destinations to urban areas celebrating harbor restoration—have shown that coordinated approaches can make meaningful differences.
The Path Forward
Dog waste management deserves recognition as a legitimate water and sanitation challenge, not just a nuisance issue. As our communities become more pet-friendly and environmentally conscious, we need systems that reflect both values.
This means developing infrastructure that supports proper disposal, creating clear regulations that pet owners can actually follow, and treating pet waste as the public health and environmental issue it truly is. The technology and knowledge exist—we've proven that with human waste management systems developed over decades. Some cities in Spain, the UK, and Taiwan have implemented interesting methods to encourage people to consider dog waste more in their daily routine. Even with all of these stories, though, we can’t stop here.
The question isn't whether we can build better solutions for dog waste management. The question is whether we'll prioritize this "simple win" for environmental health and climate action, recognizing that comprehensive sanitation systems must address all waste streams that affect our communities.
For water and sanitation professionals, this represents both challenge and opportunity. We have the expertise to design better systems. Now we need the commitment to ensure that environmental stewardship extends to every member of our communities—including the four-legged ones.
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