Dog poop overloading Coquitlam, B.C. park garbage cans

Dog poop is creating a stink in Coquitlam, B.C., where city staff worry the trash bins in parks are being overloaded with bags of excrement.

City staff did an audit of the trash cans in public parks and found that in about half of them dog waste was the main component.

"That, in some ways, proves that people are being responsible, but what it does is present the city with a challenge," parks manager Kathleen Reinheimer told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.

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"We shouldn't be delivering that to a transfer station where dog waste is more than five or 10 per cent of the load."

While pet waste is officially prohibited from Metro Vancouver's landfills, the regional body states online that small amounts are accepted in household garbage and that there is no ban on disposing of dog waste in a park trash can.

Instead, it suggests flushing or composting the poop in your own backyard.

What do you do with dog poo?

Coquitlam city staff have asked council for separate bins for dog waste in the parks which would then be taken to the sewage treatment facility, or composted.

"We're going to have to find a way to comply with the regulations than currently just hoping we don't get fined at the transfer station," said Reinheimer.

Reinheimer doubts Coquitlam is the only municipality to be grappling with this problem.

To hear the full interview with Kathleen Reinheimer, listen to the audio labelled: Dog poop clogs Coquitlam park garbage cans.