Dog-poop fuel

The problem was immediate and unquestionable: dog poop on his shoe, but the solution didn't come to Vancouver park board commissioner Spencer Herbert until he was wiping it off.

"At first I was angry, and then as I was cleaning, I thought, how do we deal with this better?" said Herbert. "We think just throwing it out in the garbage means we're done with it."

Herbert said yesterday he began questioning why all the dog waste in Vancouver should go to waste. Responsible owners picked up their dog droppings in plastic bags to throw away, and the irresponsible just left it on the grass or sidewalk.

He soon discovered San Francisco was pondering the same problem and looking at the possibility of turning dog waste into bio-fuels to heat homes.

The proposal in California is still in its pre-planning stage with a feasibility study, but Herbert would like to see the idea take form in Vancouver. Dog waste would be collected at neighbourhood drop-off spots and deposited in a vat for bacteria to digest, leaving methane gas as the end result. The methane could then be used to heat and light park washrooms or greenhouses.

Herbert said his preliminary research shows turning dog waste into some type of usable energy can be done with technology that already exists, but the question is whether pet owners would co-operate.

Dealing with the dog waste in a city with 60,000 dogs is a big task.

Last month, Herbert's proposal that the park board prepare a report on environmentally friendly disposal was rejected by a majority of commissioners. But Herbert is determined and trying to gather public support to force the issue back before the board.

Park board chair Ian Robertson said the commissioner's proposal to study sustainable disposal is redundant because a city dog task force is already considering ideas.

One pilot project is a dog composting system in a Vancouver park.

"We're looking at the issue already and we're letting the task force do its job. I get more emails as a commissioner about dogs than on any other issue. Non-dog owners tell me that we're too lenient on dogs and dog owners say we don't have enough parks for dogs. There are valid points on both sides."

As the father of two soccer goalie players, Robertson said he knows the agony of watching his sons attempt a save only to fall in dog poop.

Harnessing dog waste into some form of energy may be far down the line, but he said composting poop is in the works.

City Farmer, a non-profit organization that promotes urban agriculture and composting initiatives, has started a dog waste composting demonstration.

Executive director Michael Levenston said City Farmer set up the demo because so many people want to know how to dispose of dog waste.

A bin is buried down a hole, flush with the surface, with the bottom cut out and holes on its side. Dog waste is deposited inside along with septic powder and decomposes naturally.

"We were answering a call," Levenston said. "People are very enthusiastic."

Anything has got to be better than the present system, said Jim Heeps, Vancouver's superintendent of street cleaning.