The Scoop on Pet Waste

The average dog produces 3/4 of a pound (or 340 grams) of waste a day— that’s 274 pounds a year!

One gram of pet waste (the size of a pea) contains 23 million fecal bacteria (like E. coli) and can also transmit other pathogens like parasites and viruses.

Leaving pet waste on our trails, in your yard, or in the stormdrains leaves you, your family, and our community susceptible to contracting these pathogens.

When it rains, stormwater runs along the ground and can pick up pathogens from your pets' waste and carry it through the stormdrains, untreated, in to our local water bodies. These are often the same streams, ponds, and ocean we enjoy visiting with our families and pets.

Two to three days of pet waste from 100 dogs can close 20 miles of waterway to swimming and shell fishing due to high bacteria and nutrient levels.*

You can help everyone stay healthy when you Scoop it -> Bag it -> Trash it

• 

• 

• 

* USEPA. 1993. Guidance Specifying Management Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters.