Animal waste left on the ground is not an acceptable option. Pet waste on the surface provides a stream of potentially dangerous organisms and parasites traveling with the water run-off to larger reservoirs, which are readily polluted. Even if you bury the waste, which is often the recommended solution, it takes a very long time to decompose. Buried pet waste will also still contaminate wells, lakes, and streams with pathogens, as microbes in the soil will only rapidly break down the waste once the soil has been bokashi fermented.

Flushing pet waste is also not an adequate solution, because water treatment facilities will not effectively eliminate parasites, such as toxoplasmosis, a parasite that has the well documented potential to infect humans, particularly pregnant women who become exposed and infected.

Collecting pet waste in plastic bags, and sealing and depositing them in cans, which are then taken to the landfill, guarantees that the waste will be retained deep in the ground to release methane for years, in a repository of plastic polymers. We need to keep this waste out of the landfill. Pet waste attracts flies, is smelly, and is loaded with microbes that can cause problems.