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Australian Dog Lover
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…but wait, there’s a solution!
What weighs more than three of the world’s heaviest passenger aircraft, spans at least the distance from Sydney to Brisbane if lined up end to end… and stinks to high heaven?
Answer: the estimated total amount of poop being produced by Australian dogs each day, with new reports suggesting Australia’s dog poop collection culture needs an overhaul.
Recently, Gold Coast City Council revealed that it spent about $720,000 supplying 12.8 million plastic poop waste bags and servicing 274 bag dispensers during 2022-23. This contributed 23 tonnes of plastic waste into landfill and the environment, despite it being home to less than 69,000 registered dogs.
While a separate CQUniversity study has revealed Aussie dog poop collection habits vary widely, with 71% of owners reporting their dog produces one to five Bunnings sausages worth of poop daily, yet less than one-third are picking it up with the same frequency.
Keen to understand more about the impact of all this poop on our neighbourhoods, home to more than 6 million dogs, Canberra mum, dog lover and entrepreneur Rachel Hawes extrapolated the results to find a whopping 900km long poop sausage is being produced by Australian dogs every day, and that’s a conservative estimate.
“Other studies have shown the average weight of poop excreted by dogs daily is 340 grams, which adds up to a staggering 2040 tonnes - more than the weight of 3 commercial airliners,” she said.
With dog poop well known to harbour bacteria and parasites*, Rachel said immediately disposing of the waste significantly lowers the risk of spreading disease to humans and other animals…but also the risk of stepping in squishy brown landmines.
“So whichever way you look at it, dog poop is a big problem in our communities that needs to be well managed, or it can have large environmental, health and financial consequences,” she said.
Education and proper equipment are key to behavioural change
Tired of the daily dog poop dodge, Rachel is now on a mission to help more dog owners do the right thing and hopefully curb collection costs for ratepayers, through her new all-in-one poop disposal invention called the Pupoon.
Lightweight and odour-resistant, the Pupoon has an airtight chamber and a built-in bag dispenser that attaches to a dog’s lead like a cocoon. It fully equips dog owners to be self- sufficient and dispose of their own pet’s waste when out in public places.
“I’ve always wondered why there’s such a reliance on councils to manage dog waste at great cost to ratepayers, when there’s a simple and more convenient solution like the Pupoon,” Rachel said.
“There has been an issue with ordinary dog poop bag dispensers only doing half the job and leaving you carrying stinky plastic bags until you can find a rubbish bin, which isn’t always easy,” Rachel said.
“But now a Pupoon can take care of the whole pick up and disposal job, regardless of where your dog chooses to poop – on the beach, at the park, on the footpath or a neighbour’s lawn.”
Awarded an ACT Government innovation grant, the Pupoon fits standard biodegradable poop bag rolls available from pet stores. It is also much cheaper than a council fine for failing to carry adequate equipment or to pick up after your dog.
For dog owners interested in how their poop collection practices compare with others, the CQUniversity study of 1,054 participants, called ‘What Australians do with their dog poo? A survey of dog-owning household practices and attitudes’, found 331 owners pick it up daily, 293 ‘a few times a week’, 203 ‘about once a week’, 26 ‘once a month, and 57 said ‘never’.
Interestingly, a further 98 said they pick it up ‘before mowing the lawn’, 74 said ‘when it becomes a nuisance’, 73 said ‘before visitors come over’, and 30 when they ‘remember’. The survey also revealed 41% of dog faeces are ‘always or usually’ produced at home, 51% ‘sometimes at home/sometimes away from home’, and the remainder ‘always away’ from home.
The Pupoon is now available for purchase online at https://pupoon.com
Win 1 of 5 Pupoon all-in-one Dog Poop Solution in our Giveaway, ends August 11!
References:
ABC News Online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-15/dog-poo-bag-plastic-gold-coast-environment/104079212#content
The US EPA estimates that the typical dog excretes ¾ of a pound (340g) of waste per day. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-11/Composting-Dog-Waste-Booklet-Alaska.pdf
NB: The biggest wide-body passenger airliner – the Airbus A380 - weighs a maximum 560 tonnes at take-off, the distance from Sydney to Brisbane is about 900km, and a Bunnings sausage measures a standard 15cm in length.
Calculations (NB: conservative estimates):
Approx. 6million dogs x 15cm (1 sausage only) = 900km
Approx. 6million dogs x 340g (average weight daily) = 2040 tonnes
About the Pupoon:
The Pupoon is a clever airtight storage capsule with built-in bag dispenser that attaches to most dog leads like a cocoon! Lightweight, odour-resistant, and Australian-designed, the Pupoon helps take the eww out of dog poop disposal. It is now available online at pupoon.com
Approx. 6million dogs x 15cm (1 sausage only) = 900km
Approx. 6million dogs x 340g (average weight daily) = 2040 tonnes
About the Pupoon:
The Pupoon is a clever airtight storage capsule with built-in bag dispenser that attaches to most dog leads like a cocoon! Lightweight, odour-resistant, and Australian-designed, the Pupoon helps take the eww out of dog poop disposal. It is now available online at pupoon.com
MEDIA RELEASE, 23rd July 2024
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