A Dog May Be Man's Best Friend... But Poop Is Not!
After seeing pile, after pile, after pile! of dog poop at our monthly beach cleanups last winter, we decided to try to do something about it! The NH Department of Environmental Services recently developed a Pet Waste Outreach Campaign Manual, The Inside Scoop, along with a grant program to help organizations and municipalities address the problem of dog waste and encourage responsible pet ownership. We are excited to announce that we received funding through this program for our project, "The Beach Scoop: Tracking and Reducing Pet Waste on NH Coastal Beaches."
As part of the project, we are working with Barkin' Biscuit in Stratham, which agreed to donate dog biscuits for us to hand out to pet owners, along with biodegradable pet waste bags, to spread awareness of the pet waste problem.
Project Goals
Track dog waste on the beach
Conduct outreach to increase awareness and decrease the amount of dog waste on the beach
Hopefully, this will result in less dog waste on the beach, and a cleaner beach for everyone to enjoy!
GET INVOLVED!
Volunteer to be a Beach Ambassador! (PDF file)
Stuff you didn't really want to know...
One gram of dog waste contains 23 million fecal coli form bacteria (www.stormwatercenter.net)
95% of fecal coli form found in urban storm water was of non-human origin (USEPA, 1993)
Pet waste is harmful to water supplies. Rain washes pet waste carrying harmful bacteria to rivers, beaches, and bays via storm drains. Enough bacteria can cause water to be unsafe for drinking and swimming, and can contribute to the closure of shellfish beds.
Using DNA fingerprinting techniques, “Microbial Source Tracking” bacteria can be matched from water samples to humans as well as wild and domestic animals. Dog waste has been the predominant contaminant source identified at several sites in New Hampshire. Using the DNA fingerprinting, it can actually be tracked to the species of the dog!
Reduce the Effects of Dog Waste
1. Always pick up after your pet!
2. Never put pet waste in a storm drain, as they drain directly to a local water body.
3. Instead, place the poop in a trash bag or bury it in your yard at least 5 inches in the ground and away from vegetable gardens and waterways.
4. Participate in our slogan & art contest! We’re looking for students to design a logo and slogan for our pet waste outreach campaign.
5. Be a beach ambassador! We’re looking for volunteers to help hand out dog biscuits on the beach and at local fairs and festivals. For more information, call 603-431-0260 or e-mail info@blueoceansociety.org.
Project Data & Reports
From August 23, 2007 through December 31, 2008, we conducted a pet waste outreach project funded by NH Dept. of Environmental Services. During this time period, 227 beach cleanups were conducted at sites along the New Hampshire coast, most of which were 1/3 mile in length. At each cleanup, volunteers recorded the types of trash they found, including dog waste.
An average of 4 dog piles was found per cleanup, with a great increase in the number of piles found in the winter and spring.
The month with the highest number of dog piles found was April 2008, with an average of 14 piles per cleanup. The month with the least number of dog piles was September 2007, when an average of 0.5 piles were found per cleanup.
We hope to continue our pet waste outreach program, including continuing to track trends in dog waste on beaches and handing out dog biscuits and biodegradable waste bags.
More data and a downloadable report will be here soon!
Other Links
NH DES Scoop the Poop Information & Manual | Pet Waste Campaign, Dover, NH
Acknowledgements
Thanks to NH Department of Environmental Services for funding this project!
Thanks to Angie Hoxie of Barkin' Biscuit who has agreed to donate dog biscuits as part of our outreach efforts.
Thanks to Tim Barretto of Dover, NH, who suggested our project slogan.
Thanks to the Hampton Beach Village District for funding additional project materials and handing out biscuits and bags!
