Pet waste in the compost pile?

420noobie

Well-Known Member
Is this a good idea? I have 3 cats and 2 dogs but the idea of their poop In the compost kinda weirds me out. Any insight into the subject?
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
Its risky and I'd say not worth it. I prefer to put dogshit in the landfill.

But if you've the space and patience, and attention to detail, you might want to compost it separate from everything else so as to be confident its finished. But get it up to temp for long enough you can destroy the pathogens that make it risky.

From Wiki- it references humanure but dog shits got the same risks.

Sanitation issues
The use of unprocessed human feces as fertilizer is a risky practice as it may contain disease-causing pathogens. Nevertheless, in developing nations it is widespread. Common parasitic worm infections, such as ascariasis, in these countries are linked to night soil, because their eggs are in feces.

These risks are eliminated by proper composting. "Finished compost should never be 'sterile,' but it should be sanitary. That means the compost should be teeming with beneficial microorganisms that do not pose a threat to human health. Any human disease organisms that may have been in the original organic material should have been eliminated, weakened, or greatly diminished by the time the compost has become mature."[2]

Human waste may be attractive as fertilizer because of the high demand for fertilizer and the relative availability of the material to create night soil. In areas where native soil is of poor quality, the local population may weigh the risk of using night soil.

The safe reduction of human waste into compost is possible. Many municipalities create compost from the sewage system biosolids, but then recommend that it only be used on flower beds, not vegetable gardens. Some claims have been made that this is dangerous or inappropriate without the expensive removal of heavy metals.
 
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