The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is committed to a cleaner Lake Erie, and efforts to protect water quality in neighborhoods go a long way. This is one reason our Pick Up Poop! (PUP) program is so popular!
What is the Pick Up Poop! PUP Program?
Doggies can’t scoop it, so you have to doo it! The PUP Program encourages dog owners to Pick Up Poop, or “PUP.” PUP educates pet owners about the environmental hazards of abandoned poop and encourages them to scoop that poop!
Dog poop is a contributor to many water quality problems, impacting not only local waterways but area beaches. When it rains, the runoff takes just about everything off the ground with it. Lawn chemicals, litter, road salt and debris, cigarette butts and bacteria from dog poop are just a few possible contaminants.
“There are approximately 90,000 dogs living in Cuyahoga County, producing 45 tons of poop each day,” said Frank Greenland, Director of Watershed Programs. “Cleaning up after your pet is a simple way to help keep our neighborhoods, local waterways and ultimately Lake Erie clean.”
The scoop on doggie poop
An average pile of doggie doo produces 3,000,000,000 fecal coliform bacteria! Dog droppings have 10X more fecal coliform bacteria than cow manure and can also contain other bacteria such as e. coli, salmonella and giardia. Dog poop is not a fertilizer; doggies eat a high protein diet (as opposed to a cow’s vegetarian diet), resulting in highly acidic waste.
What to do with all that doo?
Don’t drop your dog’s poop into the storm drain. Most storm drains flow directly to your local stream and NOT a wastewater treatment plant. Remember to take a bag with you (biodegradable preferred) on your walks and scoop that poop! “Doo” the responsible thing – your “doo-ty” as a pet owner – and simply throw the bagged poop into the trash!
Need a yard sign?
Yard signs are available from one of several PUP Partners throughout the region, including the Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek. In addition, signs and other PUP materials can be requested at dogscantflush.org.
Become a PUP Partner
Member Communities can become designated PUP! Partners and help make our educational yard signs available to residents. This will encourage the spread of information and reduce the spread of bacteria.
The Sewer District now has Pick Up Poop! PUP yard sign display boxes to make these popular yard signs more accessible to residents across our 62 member communities.
If your community would like a display box for use in your community, contact Jenn Elting at [email protected] or 216.881.6600. A fully-assembled PUP display box and 100 yard signs will be delivered to your community representative. Additional yard signs will be delivered upon request.
This is a free service available to all Member Communities.
About the Author
This blog was written and contributed by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. See more at www.neorsd.org.
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