Pick up after your pet

When pet waste is left on lawns, trails or sidewalks, rain washes it into the city’s storm drains that lead straight to our local streams. Pet waste can harm water quality.

• Decomposing pet waste uses up oxygen that fish and plants need.
• Pet waste contains nutrients that encourage algae to grow in streams.
• Pet waste contains bacteria and parasites that can be harmful to people and animals.

What can I do to help?

• Always pick up pet waste on walks, in parks and in your yard.
• Carry a plastic bag when walking your pet so that you can dispose of pet waste properly.  Some parks have pet waste stations with bags and trash cans that you can use.
• Pet waste should be bagged and put in the green trash cart, not the blue recycling cart or the gray yard waste cart.
• DO NOT compost or use pet waste as a garden fertilizer.

Download graphics at Google Drive.