Bellingham promotes proper pet waste disposal to protect watershed

ISABELLE DILLS - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM - When it comes to disposing of pet poop, the city's Public Works Department has a simple message: Bag it and trash it.

Pet owners in the Whatcom Creek watershed were surveyed in the spring to determine how they were disposing of their pets' waste on public land and in their own yards.

The survey results are intended to help Public Works create a program to reduce pet waste in the watershed.

PET WASTE SURVEY RESULTS
Three hundred pet owners who live in the Whatcom Creek watershed were surveyed in the spring of 2008 to determine how they dispose of pet waste.
On trails and in parks:
75 percent said they always pick up their dog's waste.
15 percent pick it up most of the time.
5 percent pick it up half of the time.
2 percent pick it up less than half the time.
3 percent never pick it up.
At home:
(City residents are required to dispose of pet waste properly even in their own yards)
75 percent pick up their dog's waste in their yards and put it in the trash.
7 percent compost.
7 percent flush it down the toilet.
6 percent toss it off the grass.
3 percent put it in the yard waste bin.
2 percent bury it.
SURVEY RESULTS PROVIDED BY KYM FEDALE, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR, BELLINGHAM PUBLIC WORKS

Putting dog or cat poop in the compost pile or the yard waste bin are some of the worst ways to handle it, said Kym Fedale, environmental educator with Public Works.

Salmonella, e. coli and roundworm from pet waste can survive for months, even years, after the waste has decomposed, Fedale said. When it rains, the bacteria is carried by the water through storm drains or underground and may make its way into local creeks and water bodies, Fedale said.

Bacteria from pet poop lowers water quality and harms the insects, fish and mammals living in or near the watershed, Fedale said.

Salmon, otters and other wildlife already are at risk from other pollutants in the watershed, and bacteria from pet waste only worsens the problem.

Putting pet waste in a bag and placing the bag in the trash is the best method of disposal, Fedale said.

Owners who do not pick up the poop on public property are subject to a $46 fine if they are identified by an animal control officer from the Whatcom Humane Society.

"This is a growing problem in Bellingham parks, especially in the summer and fall when the weather is nice," said Laura Clark, community outreach director at the Whatcom Humane Society.

Lake Padden, Whatcom Falls and Cornwall Park are some of the parks with the most complaints, Clark said.

Plans are already in the works to educate pet owners on proper waste removal and to help reduce waste on public and private property near local water bodies.

The Fever Creek watershed, which feeds into Whatcom Creek, will be getting five new garbage cans along Railroad Trail in the next few months.

The cans, designed by industrial design students at Western Washington University, include maps of the trail and where the next garbage can is located. They also provide pet waste bags in case people don't bring their own.

Fedale also is working on a Blue Leashes Program to recognize responsible dog owners.

Responsible owners will be given blue leashes and gift certificates to local pet supply stores such as Pet Stop in Sehome Village.