“How do I get rid of dog poo?” is the third most commonly asked question by people looking to set up dog fields.
The best way to get rid of the dog poo generated in your field is through a professional waste collection company.
Some dog fields request that visitors take their dog waste home with them and whilst it might seem like this solves the dog waste disposal issue for the field owner, all it really does is create is a reluctance for users to pick up dog poo, an unwillingness to pick up the occasional missed poo, and sometimes results in piles of dog poo bags outside the field. We strongly discourage leaving dog poo bag disposal to your customers. It’s not good customer service and it’s not good dog field management.
A number of fields have tried to set up composting solutions but these require customer cooperation and an understanding of the process and this simply doesn’t work without a lot of additional work for the field owner.
Many dog field owners simply dispose of dog waste in their domestic bins or visit the recycling centres where domestic waste can be deposited. There are a great number of reasons that neither of these solutions are a good idea but usually the reasons given are practicality, cost saving or more commonly, simply not knowing that there are dedicated businesses out there who will manage dog field waste.
If you want to run a professional dog field operation, you need to have a waste disposal plan and in most cases the easiest and cheapest way to do this is by employing a professional waste disposal company who specialise in dealing with pet waste.
We have collated the most commonly asked questions about dog waste here and if there’s anything we haven’t covered that you want the answers to, please feel free to email us.
How Much Does It Cost For Professional Waste Removal?
It depends on who you use. Some councils provide a chargeable pet waste collection service but not many offer this or indeed the flexibility of ad hoc collections or additional bin provision for example. We have spent a lot of time researching pet waste solutions in the UK and by far the most cost effective, reliable, and widespread provider is Pet Waste Solutions – on average, they charge £95 +VAT per collection of a wheelie bin. As part of their service, you get a large wheely-bin and a smaller field caddy to have within your field.
Do I Need To Use Special Bins And Poo Bags?
No but using plastic-free poo bags really ought to be encouraged – there are plenty of providers of biodegradable, 100% corn starch and composable poo bags on the market. Plastic poo bags shouldn’t really exist anymore. Wherever dog waste ends up, the speed at which it breaks down is hindered significantly by plastic bags and we all understand the issues around plastic decomposition.
How Much Waste Can I Expect To Collect From My Field?
This depends on how busy your field is, your opening hours, how many sessions you have and how many dogs can visit in each session. However, the average is around 35kg a week with a standard wheely-bin holding around 70kg of dog waste.
How Often Do My Bins Need Collecting?
Most fields will have two collections a month but that can vary and if you know you have a social meet up or a lot of weekend training sessions taking place in your field, you might want to arrange additional collections around these times.
4 Crucial Reasons Professional Waste Collection Is Important
- PR – what would you customers think it they knew you were disposing of 35kg of dog poo a week in your domestic wheely-bin?
- You don’t have to move it! If you’ve ever left a dog poo bag in your car for more than a quick journey home, you’ll have a good idea what 100 might smell like – that’s an average weekly collection. Whether you’re taking it to the tip or home to your wheely-bin, this is only a job for a pick-up truck!
- Environmental reasons – your council may well have a waste disposal programme that you are blissfully unaware of and includes specifically how they manage large quantities of dog waste. Using a professional agent with the correct licenses and permits in your area is critical – be a good citizen
- Perhaps the most important reason to use a professional waste removal company is that it is very likely to be a condition of your planning consent. If you agreed to ensure you get rid of any waste generated on site using professional contractors, you‘d better make sure you do because failure to do so would make you in breach of your planning conditions or permissions and liable for penalties or worse, enforcement action.
Why We Recommend Pet Waste Solutions
Tony and his team really understand dog poo! That might not be something you appreciate if you’re only just starting out on your dog field journey but trust me, it will be the most commonly discussed topic in your business from the day you open your doors.
Pet Waste Solutions is a small business that has expanded to cover the entire UK in the space of a few years. They’ve done it through being very reliable (despite really difficult challenges during various lockdowns), flexible, and with great customer service at a reasonable cost.
The daily costs of running a dog field are relatively low – especially when compared to the set-up costs or the rapidly increasing costs of running any business, so setting aside £7/day (for a really busy field) to employ someone else to do the dirty work of dog waste disposal is a very wise investment!
If you’re looking to set up your own field and you’re looking for advice or support, please go on over to our consultancy services page where you’ll find details of all the options open to you – from an initial consultation to get you on the road to running your own dog field – to a full set up support programme which will have you operating your own dog field without the worry of getting planning permission, setting up online booking systems or indeed arranging dog waste collections!
For a quote from Pet Waste Solutions, visit www.PetWasteSolutions.co.uk call 01580 857012 or email info@petwastesolutions.co.uk for more information.
