Shep says...

DID YOU KNOW?

We need your help to keep our parks, open spaces and community clean! The City and County of Broomfield is increasing the number of dog waste stations available in public spaces and we encourage you utilize them as the implications of unremoved dog waste are impactful to the community as a whole:

1. The average dog deposits 274 pounds of waste per year. With over 15,350 dogs in Broomfield alone, that is an annual “contribution” of 4,205,900 pounds of dog waste. That is 2100 TONS of poop, the equivalent of 420 large elephants. (Source: United States Department of Agriculture - Composting Dog Waste)

2. The EPA considers dog waste as one of the worst sources of nonpoint water pollution. Waste that enters water sources releases ammonia, viruses, bacteria, and excess nutrients. These pollutants can harm fish and wildlife populations, kill native vegetation, foul drinking water, and make recreational areas unsafe and unpleasant. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Polluted Runoff Nonpoint Sources in Urban Areas)

3. One gram of dog waste can contain as many as 23 million fecal coliform bacteria. That’s almost twice as much as bacteria than is typically found in human feces. Waste can seep into groundwater and spread salmonella, giardia, and E. coli. (Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

4. Dog waste can take a year to fully decompose. Processed dog diets prevent dog waste from breaking down quickly like scat left behind by wild animals that subsist on more natural diets. Dog waste left behind in our parks and open spaces is smelly, unsightly, and builds up quickly. (Source: Applied and Environmental Biology)

5. Dog waste makes terrible compost. Simply leaving dog waste out in a field does not fertilize the ground, and high acidity can even leave lawns brown and patchy. Broomfield does send dog waste from the County Commons Dog Park to EnviroWagg for composting, but the process is complex and time-consuming. Learn more about how EnviroWagg works by watching this short video. 

Please be sure to use the resources provided by Broomfield and pick-up after your animal.(B.M.C. 6-28) 

If you would like to do more to help keep our community clean of dog waste, sponsor a dog waste station!

Come back soon for future opportunities to sponsor a station of your own!