Attention: Edmonds.dog walkers. The City of Edmonds soon will make it easy for you to clean up after your pooch by providing “doggie poop dispensers” in various areas of the city, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis said in an email Friday.
Thanks to City Stormwater Engineer Program Manager Jerry Shuster and Recycling Coordinator Steve Fisher, the city secured a stormwater education grant to purchase 4,000 collection bags. Then Shuster convinced the firm of Custom Bioplastics to donate 10 dog waste bag dispensers to the City of Edmonds, for a savings of $600, Buckshnis said
Dispensers have already been placed at the following “test” locations: Sunset Avenue and the Mini Park near the restrooms at the Washington State Ferry holding lanes. They will be installed at these locations next week: City Park, Yost Park, Pine Ridge Park and the Interurban trail near Lake Ballinger. More dispensers will be added, so ideas for future locations should be directed to Parks and Recreation Department Director Carrie Hite or Manager Rich Lindsay at 425-771-0230.
“So please dog owners, scoop the poop!” Buckshnis said. “Picking up after your dog not only makes all dog owners look responsible, but it helps keep our streams and creeks clean and – by extension our lovely Puget Sound.”
Good News!
Please let us know as soon as they are up. I’m excited about the new dog dispensers… been thinking about either adding a Beagle or a Corgi to our little family. Do you know if its a random assortment or do they fill it with different breeds as they become available?
On a serious note, I sure hope all is well and good for our seaside doggy park’s future…
Good one, Ken — I’ll edit the story to change that wording
Now it says “Doggie Poop Dispenser”. I definately am not interested in anything that dispenses doggie poop. Maybe “Doggie bag Dispenser”?
Gotta love the readers of this website.I think the latest edit addresses all concerns.
Thanks for your time and effort. I was really just trying to make light!
And I really am wondering about the status of the unfortunate civil action against the city regarding the dog park.
So let me get this right… Edmonds City Council outlaws plastic bags in stores – increasing costs for businesses, and inconveniencing consumers – meanwhile getting rid of the source of bags that many dog owners use to scoop the poop.
Then they decide to give plastic bags to dog owners who aren’t responsible enough to carry one with themselves while the walk their pet – thereby increasing the costs to the city. I understand it’s a grant so it’s not directly tax dollars, but trace it back it most likely comes from money we paid as taxes whether to city, county, state or utility district.
And yes.. I read that the dispensers were ‘donated’, however isn’t this a loss-leader like the super cheap inkjet printers with expensive ink?
I just don’t understand how Edmonds is giving away plastic bags that convenient package dog poo, but I can’t go to a local store and have my groceries packaged in them.
Teresa, you do a great job. I appreciate your work. I have a whole lot of other wise cracks I would love to say right now, but I will refrain to show my respect for you. 🙂
It’s progress even though It involves using plastic bags. The largest source of E. coli in Puget Sound is from dog feces. Using plastic bags for groceries is another separate issue. Plastic bags used by the millions end up in the environment for thousands of years and all plastic bags should be either biodegradable or replaced with reusable bags.
Two important issues and important not to merge the two.
I am assuming that these city provided bags ARE BIODegradable!!!??? PLEEEASE!
The bags are special bio-degradable and were received as a result of a grant.
What is the proper way to dispose of a dog bag? Is it different for a bio-degradable vs a non bio-degradable?
The proper disposal for pet waste is placement in a bag (preferably plastic, doubled), tied, or folded closed, and then put into the Garbage. This goes for bio- and non-biodegradeable bags. Never put pet waste into a yard waste bin or backyard compost pile/bin. The alternative is that it can also be flushed down the toilet (but never flush cat litter!).
The article makes it sound as though the grant was specific to dog waste bags. It was part of a larger grant to deal with Storm Water Runoff into the Sound. The doggie bags were a small portion what the grant money from the Department of Ecology is being used for. The majority of the grant, according to Mr. Jerry Shuster, our Edmonds Stormwater Engineering Program manager, was used for the Shell Valley Emergency Road project’s storm water management system.
As always, thanks to the folks down at City Hall, who are out getting those grants. And taking time to answer questions from me.
We have just found out from the maker of the bags that the bags are made of 100 percent recycled materials but are not biodegradeable as I thought. For details visit https://www.bio-buddy.com/ to understand the reasons for why as it is very detailed and discusses the many biodegradeable terms. If you have any further questions contact Jerry Shuster at the City of Edmonds. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Thanks Diane!
Dear Ms. Diane Buckshnis:
What makes you think that people are going to “scoop-the-poop” when they don’t do it now? Do you know how many times in the Seaview area alone I have picked up poop from other dogs? You know, people don’t even pick up after their dogs in the “off-leash” area thats called a “dog park”. You know, this might even be one of your “jobs” programs- let see, we got 10 donated and once those are all “borrowed” with no intention to return , then the city will start having to buy them at probably 3 times the amount-say, “$1800.00 for 10 of them. Then we will need to hire “Professional Poop Scoopers”. I with you Diane….I’m tracking!
Hi Ron,
Boy you and me both agree with the Seaview issue. What we have found at the dog park is that it is cleaner. So the education and availability of bags must have some input to this problem. One of our founding OLAE non-profit (www.olae.org) who use to go down to the off-leash to pick up daily called the other day and said she was shocked at how clean the beach was…so there is hope.
In terms of future purchase of bags, our non-profit is looking into purchasing and donating since one of our mission statements is educating users to the hazards of not picking up.
Thank-you for being the irresponsible dog owners angel. Sometimes I think they don’t pick up as they know that there are folks like us that like a clean neighborhood.
Hello! I just bought a house in Edmonds, have not moved in yet. Every time I go to check on my house there is dog poop all over my yard and some are covered with soil. There is small hill all over my yard now. Not sure what to do or who to complain. Any help will be good.