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Dog poo Wormery (sorry it know its teatime 🙈)

CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
in Problem solving
Im an avid composting fan having 3 Daleks and 3 wormeries.  I have been looking online and lots of 'green' websites say dog poo composters work very well.  I would probably not do the half buried method but probably get the worm city one as I feel that would be less likely to attract rats.  I have 3 dogs and I know lots of you also have dogs -do any of you compost their poo and can give me any tips?
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  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    Hmmm, back to marrow bake, just posting to bump it for the evening, hopefully you'll get some replies.
  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    thanks @GemmaJF! Its def not a popular query!  Its very popular in Australia.  You jut do poo and shredded paper and worms.  No more landfill plastic bags etc - the pros are very good!  May have to knock the idea on the head as I mentioned to my husband this morning and he's really not keen on the idea at all!  ☹️
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    I always thought you should avoid the faeces of carnivores in compost? To be honest I imagine it would smell truly awful. Sorry to be negative. 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Outdoor compost toilets are quite popular,  I’ve always wanted one,  no difference in dog poo to humans. Most of us are carnivores (note I said most) 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    Thanks @debs64 and @Lyn for your comments.  I believe they don't smell at all.  Think the shredded paper that is the carbon helps with That.  As long as you don't use the resulting compost on veggies you are fine.  Yes I like the idea of a composting loo too! @Lynwe stayed at a treehouse site in north Wales which had composting loos and lovely hot tubs that you lit with wood in the furnace and it had water from the spring on the hill so was a bit murky in colour when filled but it felt so pure and natural.  I hate hot tubs with chemicals etc and never go in them.  My query is certainly not a popular subject on here 🤔
  • KatsaKatsa Posts: 278
    I used many composting toilets growing up. They were absolutely fine - it just takes a while to figure out the best balance between 'product' and bulk (paper/sawdust). We used sawdust - it being on the west coast of canada. In some places you can get a composting toilet for solids and then use a filtration system for liquids. Granted this takes a fair amount of space, but it really works. A relative has installed this at his house in BC.

    I also used loads of outhouses too. And again - if you got the balance right they hardly smelt at all. You can also get some really nifty toilets which have a valve rather than just an open hole. This definitely helps with the smell. 
  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 617
    thanks @katsa for your interesting and informative reply.  I have 3 dogs and don't have a problem with access to poo bins etc, we have a park in the next road with doggy bins and we are also just off a village high street.  Just concerned about the plastic use - although I always buy eco bags anyway and also I like the idea of not making it someones else's problem as such.
  • OmoriOmori Posts: 1,674
    I’m wary of those eco bags...I’ve accidentally put them through the wash and dryer and they’re totally fine. I wonder if they truly degrade unless under whatever optimal conditions. That being said I use them because no other better option, but composting would be much better. I read a tub like the kind used by councils for recycling is better than the tray type of wormery. One issue is you have to be certain wormers are out of your dogs’ systems.   
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    edited July 2020
    We go with the very simple solution, we just dig a hole in the ground and throw it in there, when the hole is full, which seems to be nearly never as the worms etc do a good job of clearing it out, fill it in and start again. I have not noticed any smell from our hole, we do have free draining soil so it does not stay waterlogged which is probably important. We do have a lot of space though so finding somewhere that was not near anything was easy.

    EDIT we have 2 dogs one 21kg one 10kg.
  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    philippasmith2 said:
    Omori said:
    I’m wary of those eco bags...  
    Me too........I wonder whether there is more than 1 makeup of these bags ?  
    The ones sold in SM's are specifically for use with food waste which are collected with the local waste and incinerated.  
    Various organisations are now sending out their magazines ( National Trust is one ) in "compostable/degradeable packaging" which one assumes is home compostable ? Haven't tried these yet in my compost bins so no idea whether they do degrade or how long it would take.
    Can't comment on the doggy issue ( other than if I accidentally tread in it !! )
    We used to use them for kitchen scraps, supposedly good to go straight in the compost. They never did break down properly, even after years. Don't bother with them now, just empty the scraps straight into the compost and wash the container.
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