Let’s reduce our carbon pawprint! It was five years ago this week, during Climate Week 2019, that BPCA launched its innovative Dog Waste Composting Program across the neighborhood’s three dog runs. The brainchild of BPC’s Parks Operations Vice President Ryan Torres, the Authority has now collected and composted 8,500 pounds of dog waste since the start of the program, creating a nutrient-rich compost while both reducing methane gas emissions and diverting from the landfill the plastic bags typically used to pick up pet waste. Our Parks Operations team is now collecting up to 20 pounds of it per day to create compost for application in our gardens and green spaces in a safe and environmentally-responsible way.
But there’s lots of work yet to do! Regular waste audits performed by BPCA Parks Operations team indicate there’s an average of 200 pounds of dog waste that ends up within BPC’s landfill receptacles daily. That’s approximately 73,000 pounds a year that’s still sent to landfill. To meet that need, our dog waste composting program has evolved since its 2019 launch, when we collected about 5 pounds of waste per day from bin located in our dog parks. At that time, our composting process required 12 months to cure before being ready to apply in our landscapes. Fast forward to 2024, and we’ve expanded to eight collection bins in our dog runs and along the South Esplanade. We’ve also upgraded to a new composting machine that reduces our curing time to one week before it’s ready for application. With full participation, we estimate that up to 75 pounds waste can be collected daily. So keep up the great work, Battery Park City! We’ll see you at the dog park!
Want to participate in dog waste composting? Well, it’s quick and easy to do.
Read More:
– Dog Waste Composting in Battery Park City (Enviro Pet)
– This Neighborhood Wants to Compost Your Dog Poop (NBC 4 New York)
– You Love Your Pets, But What to Do With Their Poop? (NBC LX Home)
– How to Dispose of Dog Poop the Green Way | One Small Step (NowThis Earth)
– Let’s Talk Dog Poop And Saving Planet Earth with Ryan Torres (Pet Life Radio)
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