What do pooper scooper services in Gresham, OR do with the poop?
It's one of the first things people ask, and it's worth asking before you hire anyone, because services handle it differently. Most either leave the bags in your trash can or take them away. Here's what each means for you, and what we do.
The short answer: bin or hauled away
Pooper scooper services usually either put the bagged waste in your garbage can or take it off your property. Both are common, but they're very different to live with. At Scoops Co., we double-bag everything and take it with us. None of it goes in your curbside bin.
Approach 1: into your trash can
The service cleans the yard, ties the bags and drops them in your garbage can on the way out. It's simpler for the company, and some services price it that way.
The downside is that the waste sits in your can until pickup day. In August, you'll smell it from the driveway, and it takes up cart space you're already paying for. With more than one dog, a week of waste is not a small bag.
Approach 2: hauled off the property
The service takes the bagged waste with them and disposes of it elsewhere. Your cart stays yours, and nothing from the cleanup is left on your property. That's how every Scoops Co. visit works: we double-bag the waste, carry it out and latch the gate behind us.
The same goes for shared spaces. On an HOA or apartment property, we don't put the waste in the community's dumpster, which is usually what a property manager wants to avoid.
Questions to ask any service before you book: Where does the waste go? Do you latch the gate and confirm it? Are you insured? Do you come when it rains? A good service answers all four right away.
Why dog poop doesn't go in compost or yard debris
It's tempting to think of dog waste as natural and let it go back to the earth, but it doesn't work that way. Dog waste can carry parasites and bacteria, including roundworm eggs that survive in soil for a long time, and a home compost pile doesn't reliably get hot enough to kill them. You don't want that compost near a vegetable bed.
Curbside yard debris and food-scrap programs in the Portland area generally don't accept pet waste for the same reason. If you handle it yourself, check your hauler's list, but the usual answer is to bag it, tie it and put it in the garbage.
Why not just leave it, or bury it?
Leaving it in the yard is what most people end up doing, and it's the worst option. It kills the grass underneath, takes a long time to break down and, in a wet climate, washes toward storm drains. Pet waste is high in nitrogen and phosphorus, which feed algae in creeks and sloughs downstream. That's why local agencies treat it as a water-quality problem.
Burying it only moves the problem underground, parasite eggs included. It's an especially bad idea near a garden or anywhere kids dig.
If you're doing it yourself
- Scoop at least weekly. The how often to scoop guide covers when to go more often.
- Bag it, tie it and put it in the garbage, not the yard debris or compost cart.
- Don't leave it out before a rainy stretch. That's when it washes away.
- Check the edges: fence lines, under decks and behind sheds are where most of it hides.
If the yard needs more than a quick cleanup, a one-time yard cleanup clears it once, with no plan.