There’s no such thing as a Poop Fairy

Originally this post was entitled “The Scoop on Poop” and was going to be a rant about people who don’t pick up after their pet but after seeing this article in the Boulder Daily Camera online edition, I thought this was a better way to describe an aggravating phenomena people face all the time.

While I pretty much abhor dressing up pets, I do support the idea of installing collection waste receptacles for a bio-waste compost system on trail heads particularly since we’re so fond of hiking in Colorado.  If  that means hosting a contest showing our pets dressed ridiculously, then I guess taking one for the team is a small price to pay as a solution to a nasty problem. Pet waste is not a topic we like to think about let alone deal with (ugh, handling the bag and not getting any on your hands…yikes!), but a reality that needs to be dealt with in a practical and innovative way.  The idea of keeping anywhere from 400-500 lbs. of pet waste a week from favorite hiking trails and parks in Boulder (but more importantly from landfills) and turning it into potting soil seems like a pretty cool idea to me.

The City of Boulder is known as a bastion of liberal regulation in Colorado and more often than not, people preface their comments, “only in Boulder,” but stay with me on this idea for a minute.  Removal of pet waste is already required in cities, parks, trails, anyway (though many in my own hipster neighborhood are serious scofflaws at times–I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve picked up a big pile directly in front of the waste bag dispenser I supply in front of my house for those who run out of bags or forgot to being one…grr–but that’s not the point here today lest I veer off into a rant and I really want to stay away from that energy today).

There’s nothing worse than “stepping in it” when you’re out hiking with your fur-iend and you’re miles from anything with which to remove it.  Apart from the ick factor, there are health issues to people, pets and the environment by leaving it along the way.  Using a bio-waste compost program also takes care of methane production that accompanies waste breakdown in landfills.

While it’s only a pilot program, I hope it ends up wildly successful and spreads to Denver and all over.  It could be a very cool and innovative way to deal with an unpleasant but necessary part of the responsibilities of pet ownership.  Sorry that dogs are being dressed up to promote it-seems like everything nowadays needs some sort of hook rather than plain old common sense or consideration. I say “only in Boulder,” but then add a big “Bravo!” to the end of that sentiment.

Does your municipality have a similar program?  What do you think?