Brooklyn Park Launches Experimental Dog Poop Composting Program

A New York City park has found a novel use for the poop that its canine visitors leave behind. The New York Post reports that East River State Park, located in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, is launching an experimental dog poop composting program.

The park is asking its visitors to toss their pup’s poop in two designated compost bins. Visitors are provided with a range of pooper scoopers and complimentary paper bags to replace non-biodegradable plastic bags. Once enough poop has been collected, park employees ensure that it is mixed with sawdust and “cooked” to reduce smell before applying the brand new fertilizer to plant and flower beds.

Leslie Wright, who is the regional director of state parks in New York City, told The Post that the program would be both environmentally friendly and cheap, costing the city around $2000 for supplies and materials. She also explained that Williamsburg was chosen as a test site because its relatively young, hip residents seemed the most likely to embrace the strange and slightly stinky program and recognize its potential to make the city greener.

Right now, East River State Park is one of just three parks in the United States turning dog poop into fertilizer. But if the experiment is successful, there could soon be more. After all, there’s an obvious appeal to taking something smelly and unappealing and transform it into something useful. Or as Wright told The Post, “We figured we can use something people don’t want and turn it into something great.”