ZOO DOO COMPOST The most "poopular" compost in the Pacific Northwest

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Learn More About Our Zoo Doo Program

Woodland Park Zoo's Zoo Doo is the most exotic compost available in the Pacific Northwest. Zoo Doo is a fully composted blend of select animal manures mixed with bedding materials such as straw and wood chips from around the grounds of the zoo. As a conservation organization, Woodland Park Zoo is committed to being a steward of the environment and turning animal waste into a valuable resource is just one example of our sustainability efforts.

Read more about sustainability at the zoo

Whose Poop?

All the non-primate herbivore (plant-eating) animals are happy to doo their part. These animals include rhinos, giraffe, hippos, mountain goats, zebras, and many more! Woodland Park Zoo composts approximately 500 tons of animal waste each year saving around $125,000 per year in disposal costs.

Have questions about ZooDoo?

Call the Poop Hotline at 206-625-7667

Creating Compost at the Zoo

The Process

The process begins when fresh manure and bedding materials are collected from animal enclosures. Next, the materials are taken to the Zoo Doo yard for composting. The active composting phase lasts 30 days and the piles maintain temperatures between 135°F and 160°F, which allows for optimal decomposition of organic materials as well as destroying weed seeds and potential pathogens.

Active composting is followed by secondary composting, or curing, which is the decomposition process slowing down as the microbes finish breaking down the materials. During this phase, temperatures in the pile decrease, and the compost matures into a dark and crumby humus. After this 30 or more day process, the material looks and smells like rich organic soil or mulch, bearing little resemblance to its original components and is ready for use in home gardens!

All of our material is composted through the same process, but piles have slightly different materials to begin with, which is how we end up with Zoo Doo (hay and straw blend) and Bedspread (woodchip blend).

Why Use Zoo Doo or Bedspread?

Zoo Doo compost is a dark, rich humus, ideal for use as a soil amendment to be mixed into raised beds or used as a top dressing on gardens or potted plants. In this way, the nutrients in Zoo Doo are made available to plants while also providing the benefits of water retention, aeration, and improving soil texture.

Bedspread compost has more of a woody composition, and is best used as a mulch-like top dressing on garden beds. Unlike standard mulch, Bedspread is full of nutrients and beneficial microorganisms that it adds to the soil while acting as a mulch in the form of a weed barrier and helps control soil erosion.

Our compost isn’t the only way to get these amazing soil benefits; consider composting at home! Visit the Tilth Alliance or call the Garden Hotline at 206.633.0224 for more home-composting information.

Purchasing Zoo Doo

Year-round you can purchase Zoo Doo in 2-gallon containers and 1-pint containers at our ZooStores at the South and West Entrances-or follow this link to the online ZooStore! Pricing 2-gallon containers of Zoo Doo are $25

1 Pint containers of Zoo Doo are $6.95

1 Pint containers of Worm Doo are $10

Supplies are limited. To order and ship or to check availability, call our ZooStore at 206.548.1535.

Fecal Fest

Bulk amounts are available twice a year during our spring and fall Fecal Fests. The Spring Fecal Fest is held around March-April and the Fall Fecal Fest occurs around September-October. Due to its popularity and limited quantities, we have created a lottery system to obtain Zoo Doo during Fecal Fest. The link to enter the lottery system is posted on this page approximately 1 month in advance of each Fecal Fest. For complete details, you can call 206.625.POOP (7667) for lottery information.

Worm Doo

Dr. Doo’s private reserve of Worm Doo, usually reserved just for the zoo’s greenhouse. Worm Doo is worm castings made from Woodland Park Zoo’s Bedspread compost and organic materials making it a “twice-pooped” commodity! It is an exceptionally rich and fertile soil amendment recommended for seedlings, potted plants or in the garden. Worm Doo has all of the microbes that make Zoo Doo a huge success plus the added benefits of worm castings, like making nutrients more readily available to plants. Look for pint-sized containers in the Zoo Stores.

COMPOSTING

Easy Composting at Home

Woodland Park Zoo is not the only place composting can be done, nor does it have to be done on such a large scale. You can create your own compost in your own backyard. It makes sense for the zoo, why not for you?

Composting is a natural process of decay. It goes on around us all the time from the tomato that got left in the back of the fridge last month to the leaves in the yard. When we talk about composting we are simply exploring various ways to assist the natural process.

Composting, at its simplest, requires only four things:

Organic material Moisture Oxygen Time

Tips for Getting Started at Home





Yard Waste

To assist the composting process, the natural decomposers—including microbes and earthworms—need to be fed and cared for. A properly balanced diet for composting is a thorough mix of fresh (green) and dried (brown) plants—such as fresh grass clippings and old leaves. The more compost material that is chopped or shredded, the faster it will decompose. Gather and mix the shredded materials together in a pile so that about two thirds is brown and one third is green. Add just enough water while building the pile to ensure it stays about as damp as a wrung-out sponge. The compost pile should be large enough to hold the heat; about three to four feet on a side is ideal. This size insulates but still allows sufficient oxygen throughout. Turn the pile occasionally to encourage air flow and to add water as needed to maintain dampness. Given a little time (as little as four to five weeks), you too can create rich, crumbly compost in your own backyard!



Kitchen Waste/Food Scraps

Although food scraps are organic materials, do not include them in an open compost pile. Left in the open, they tend to attract scavenger animals such as squirrels, rats or flies. Vegetable kitchen wastes are best handled in one or more of the following ways: Pit — Bury food wastes in holes dug in the garden. Cover with at least eight inches of soil.

— Bury food wastes in holes dug in the garden. Cover with at least eight inches of soil. Trench — Establish three rows one to two feet wide. In row one, plant this year’s crops. In the adjacent row, bury food wastes. Row three is used as a path. Rotate these rows so that the second year, row one becomes the scrap row, row two the path and row three the food crop row.

— Establish three rows one to two feet wide. In row one, plant this year’s crops. In the adjacent row, bury food wastes. Row three is used as a path. Rotate these rows so that the second year, row one becomes the scrap row, row two the path and row three the food crop row. Covered Compost Bin — A well secured, sturdy cover will discourage pests from robbing your compost. Try to bury the vegetable waste as well.

— A well secured, sturdy cover will discourage pests from robbing your compost. Try to bury the vegetable waste as well. Worm Bin — (aka Vermicomposting) Rather than bury the wastes you can also establish a worm bin using compost or manure worms. In this system, set up a container (commonly a box about 3'x2'x1'), mix in shredded newspaper or dried leaves, a little water, food scraps and worms, cover with a top layer of newspaper or leaves, and close the lid. The worms will do the rest.

The simplest method to manage a worm bin is to add food scraps in one half of the bin for about three weeks. Then start working in the other half, again starting with layers of paper or leaves, food and worms. The worms still in the far end will finish their supply and move into the fresher foods leaving their castings behind. These castings can be harvested and used as fine compost.

If you want more information on worm composting, also known as vermicomposting, read Mary Appelhoff's “Worms Eat My Garbage,” published by Flower Field Press.