Canada

The City of Surrey has developed a Dog Off Leash Area Strategy, 2012-2021, that includes a Waste Management section comparing potential future solutions.

The City of Vancouver took a serious look at composting as a way to deal with the growing volume of dog waste in its public parks – see “Dealing with Dog Waste in Vancouver Parks / Preliminary Research for Dog Waste Composting at Everett Crowley Park,” LEES + Associates Landscape Architects. (No longer posted; contact the City of Vancouver.)  The search for solutions continues.  “The city’s 11,800 kilograms of dog waste produced each year is too much for garbage collectors.”

Metro Vancouver will continue to pay contractors to cut open dig waste pick-up bags and stream the contents to a sewage treatment facility.  This is just one of several innovative solutions for recycling dog park waste that the city is pursuing to achieve near zero waste.

Metro Vancouver  instructs multi-pet operations to stream pet waste to their closest transfer station or wastewater treatment plant. Dog waste and cat waste accepted at wastewater treatment plants cannot be mixed with clay litter, sand, rock, grit or any kind of bag, including biodegradable.

The City of Whistler contracts with a local compost facility which transforms dog waste from its park red bins into topsoil. Their Pick Up Protocol (PUP) program provides compostable bags along with signs, bins and composting services. The compost is tested in accordance with RMW guidelines and meets provincial requirements for Class A compost.

In 2019 around 74 tonnes of dog waste were removed from Metro Vancouver regional parks, processed and transported to Iona Wastewater Treatment Plant. According to Mike Redpath, director of regional parks, seven other municipalities have started their own programs: Vancouver, City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, District of West Vancouver, Township of Langley, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam.  

Here’s the scoop on repurposing Nova Scotia pet waste.

Colchester Waste Resource Management has been accepting dog waste and cat litter for recycling since 1996.

Halifax looks at plan to compost dog waste from municipal parks

Pictou County collects cat waste for composting as part of its green bin program.

Ontario

The City of Guelf recycles kitty litter and pet waste as part of its green bin program.

Hearthmakers Energy Cooperative in Kingston holds seminars teaching pet owners how to compost dog and cat waste to keep it out of waterways.

The city of Toronto is aiming at 70% residential waste diversion with the assistance of its Green Bin Program – From Curb to Compost. Pet waste and disposable diapers may be included with other organic Green Bin waste.

Based on a 2006 City of Toronto waste audit, the city found that dog waste is the largest litter stream by weight in its parks. As a consequence Toronto provides a Green Bin Dog Waste Plan at city parks that collects and processes this waste stream.

​

The Region of Waterloo’s curbside green bin organics collection program accepts dog waste and kitty litter, as well. The region asks residents not to toss loose waste in the green bin. All waste should be wrapped in newspaper or paper towel, or bagged in a compostable bag. More solutions from Waterloo’s Karen Scian.

​

Waterloo’s dog poop power pilot project promises to unleash pet waste as a renewable energy resource that will provide residential electricity.

A 2018  contract between the City of Ottawa and its waste hauler, Orgaworld, would include provisions for including dog waste and plastic in its residential green bin program. Items included in green bins are diverted from the landfill and streamed to the company’s compost site.

Volunteers at Notre-Dame-de-Grace Dog Run in Montreal successfully composted dog waste on-site for five years, a program documented in a Concordia University study by Nemiroff_Patterson.