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San Francisco Looks to Clean Up Crappy Problem By Composting Dog Poop

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A composting trash can with a sign that says dog poop bag in San Francisco.
Elliott Brown/Flickr

San Francisco has a crappy problem on its hands: 32 million pounds of dog poop.

Much of that waste has gone into landfills, but a new initiative is looking for an alternative to the poop problem.

Launched this Sunday at the Starr Kind Open Space — a large hilltop near 23rd and Carolina streets in Potrero Hill — a program is looking to turn dog poop into compost. With 120,000 dogs in the city, it is reportedly the first dog waste composting program in San Francisco and maybe the entire state.

Related: Poo Poo Power Turns Dog Poop Into Electricity

BioBags has partnered with Starr Kind Open Space to get the plan off the ground. The company creates poop bags that are plant-based, in lieu of the regular polyethylene plastic bags many of us use. BioBags will supply the bags, along with the supply bins and organize the pick-up of the dog poo.

Related: Those Biodegradable Dog Poop Bags May Not Be as ‘Green’ as You Think

“We tried to start this dog waste collection initiative at Duboce Park and BioBag even offered to pay the cost for the first year but the city department in charge of the park would not allow it,” Mark Williams, vice president of market development at BioBag, told SF Gate. “So we’re happy the folks at the Starr King Open Space took us up on our offer to demonstrate this is an effective way to reduce landfill for Zero Waste objectives.”

Related: A Brooklyn Park Wants Your Dog Poop for New Program

By Andrea Huspeni

Andrea Huspeni is the founder and CEO of This Dog's Life. Her mission it to help dogs live a happier, healthier and longer life. When she isn't working, she spends time with her two dogs, Lola and Milo. She resides in Brooklyn, NY.

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