Dogs are the most popular pet in the UK, reinforcing their title as man’s best friend. Ahead of cats, rabbits and indoor animals like guinea pigs and hamsters, more people choose dogs as their companion than any other animal.
Dogs produce a considerable quantity of poop regularly, so you need to form a good routine for clearing up after your pet. You might know which bin dog poop should be placed into, but is a garden dog poo bin a good idea to collect it until the day the bins are collected?
You should get a dog poo bin for garden use as it reduces the overall amount of plastic you need if you use a dedicated scoop to shovel it into a single bag. A closing lid is a must to avoid escaping smells and flies being attracted to the contents.
There are a number of advantages to having a bin available in your garden (or wherever your dog does its business).
Popular Amazon Dog Poo Bins
Here are some of Amazon’s commonly purchased bins for your garden:
One Collection Point For Dog Waste
Having a bin in the garden means that you don’t need to be throwing the gifts your friendly canine leaves you into your dustbin each time (or worse still an indoor bin). It’s there and available right next to you in the garden each time you clear up, and can be positioned somewhere to minimise the risk of dropping anything that will be hard to clear up.
Avoid Dog Poo Bags Breaking
Clearing up after your pet is a necessary evil that comes with the territory of being a dog owner. One of the biggest frustrations is sub standard bags. You can be as careful as you like to pick up all the evidence, but if you get a bag that’s not quite been manufactured correctly, or have made a bad choice of brand and picked ones that split easily, an unpleasant mess can follow.
Having a quality liner in a dog poo bin means you can scoop the mess straight into your garden pet bin, rather than relying on loads of individual bags, so the chances of getting a dodgy single use one reduces significantly.
Use Less Plastic
One bin liner makes a lot more sense if you’re picking up a lot of poops in the garden. Although the bin liner is much bigger than a single disposable poo bag, as you fill it, there’s a lot less plastic used overall compared to all the single use bags.
Putting the Dog Mess Into The Wheelie Bin For Collection
As you will know from our article about which bin to put dog poo in, dog mess can be collected as part of your general waste service on the normal council bin rounds. You’ve probably had one of those moments when you take out the kitchen bin and toss it into the general waste bin outside, without realising that the poo bags exploded as it landed, making an unpleasant mess of the inside of your wheelie bin.
A garden dog poop bin solves this nicely, as you can empty it just before you bins are emptied. Just gently place the liner full of poop on top of the rest of the rubbish before you put the bin out for collection.
Of course, it’s going to break once it’s in the bin lorry, but there’s nothing you can do to stop that once the bin has been emptied – that’s someone else’s problem!
How To Install Dog Poo Bins In The Garden
Most bins are very simple to set up and use and do now require much in the way of installation.
You don’t necessarily need to install them above the ground on a pole like the ones you find in parks. Those are raised for a few simple reasons that may not apply in your garden.
If you have wild animals roaming at night in your area, you may wish to have an elevated bin. For example, foxes might take an interest in where that odour is coming from.
Public bins are also elevated to protect children – especially where they might be playing like in parks. You really don’t want kids lifting the lid and having a rummage in them when their parent’s look away for a moment – and we know how quick children can be!
In your private garden on the other hand, you might know that there will be no children to get inquisitive, so a floor based solution may well be sufficient.
The key part for residential dog poo bins is to make sure you’re buying a bin to use outdoors. It may not even be necessary to buy something designed for dog poops, a simple kitchen bin might suffice.
Think carefully though about making sure you’re using something that’s watertight, and won’t blow over in the wind.
A toppled bin full of dog mess marinated in rainwater doesn’t sound like fun to sort out, so that’s a good reason to shell out for something that’s up to the job. If in doubt, go for something that’s been designed to be safe to use outdoors, exposed to the elements.
What About In-Ground Dog Poo Bins?
A slightly more advanced solution is to use a special type of bin that’s designed to work in a similar way to a septic tank.
In ground bins need a little more effort to install, as they require a pit to be dug to a significant depth (often to a depth of several feet) in the spot where the bin will be situated.
The bin unit goes over the top of the hole, so that there is no gap to allow the waste (or more specifically smells from the waste) to escape.
When you put the dog poops into the bin, it falls into the hole and you usually need to put water down too, and periodically add tablets to help it all break down. Over time the contents of the pit liquefy and soak away into the ground.
Do You Still Need Dog Poo Bags?
While some products suggest that you can use compostable bin bags with these solutions, it’s not advisable to use bags at all. That will allow you to buy fewer bags which is better for the environment, and at the same time the waste will break down and disappear into the ground more quickly.
Does It Work For Cat Poo Too?
While the process of breaking down will likely work well for cat mess too, it’s not likely to be a workable solution to use an in ground bin if your cat tends to use litter, unless you plan to separate it all which isn’t likely to be something many of us wish to spend our time doing.
The litter would not break down as quickly, resulting in a pit slowly filling with used cat litter.
Keep A Good Stock Of Bin Liners
If you’re using a standard bin rather than an in-ground variety, then just like your kitchen bin you’ll need to use bin liners. Again, there are parallels with regular emptying. If it’s getting full before it gets around to bin collection time, change the liner in good time.
If you’ve ever thought that a split liner when you’re emptying the kitchen bin couldn’t be more annoying, think again. A bin full of dog poop giving way is far worse than the rubbish in your kitchen bin leaking.
Make sure you’ve always got a few spares in the cupboard for lining the bin, that way you’ll know to order more when you’re running low. They’re relatively inexpensive, and avoiding overfilling makes life much easier in avoiding accidents and spillages.
Overall, investing in a garden bin for dog poops helps to keep them separate from the rest of your general waste bin’s contents until collection day, so your wheelie bins are less likely to smell any worse than those belonging to householders without pets.
