The Poop Digester
Sep 4th, 2008 by learningumbrella
Here is a weekend project that I hope works. We made a “Digester”, inspired by Tara’s solar digester post. She was, in turn, inspired by this. And they were inspired by this. So, I have come at the end of a line of adaptations, and my twist on this is that I want to use it for animal waste. I’ve made the switch to green kitty litter, so the contents of the litter box are all biodegradable now. But just dumping it in the yard is gross. And we also have a dog, and I’m not having success just digging holes to bury all that waste - the stuff doesn’t go anywhere in a shallow grave and I’m running out of places to bury it. This simple plastic trash can with holes drilled in it, buried in our yard, is basically an outhouse, but it should provide me with a place to put all that animal waste from our pets. I’m going to try the accelerator powder sold with the green cone composter, and see how it goes. Wish me luck, since the downside is that I might end up with a big can full of stinky stuff in my back yard!
I have to admit, I think I looked at the title of your post about 5 times before my eyes actually read “digester” and not “disaster”! You might keep a can of saw dust or wood shavings handy to layer, if it gets too stinky. That’s what they used in outhouses way back when…
I am going to follow all those links and try it too!!
I would have less than one bag of trash a week..if it wasn’t for the kitty litter!
I’ve heard that you can use septic starter that’s sold at hardware stores in these things, too…I don’t know if that’s the same as accelerator powder. I’m dying to try a DIY “septic tank” for pet waste, so let me know how it works for you (I’m thinking if it’s a well-buried can with adequate holes, some starter, and a tight-fitting lid, the smell should be minimal).
And…I’m so, so glad to know that there’s someone else out there who’s not bagging it up and putting it in the trash!!
We have a dog poop “compost” pile (it’s covered with a tarp, and I turn it, and it does in fact become quite dirt-like and bury-able) that I am both kind of proud of and deeply embarrassed by. Garter snakes live in it, which is weird.