When most people think about recycling, they think of glass bottles and tin cans or cardboard boxes and plastic bags. They think of the big, green trucks hauling off once-used products that will soon serve a new purpose. The Woodland Park Zoo, however, for its 26thyear, continues to redefine urban recycling.
Dan Corum, who refers to himself as the zookeeper of “microbial critters” and has earned the name Dr. Doo, serves as the zoo’s compost/recycling coordinator and oversees the creation of the zoo’s popular Zoo Doo organic compost.
“This is part of our recycling program here at the zoo,” Corum explained. “It’s just one of the things that the zoo does to do our part to be sustainable.”
Through Friday, March 18, the Woodland Park Zoo celebrates its Spring Fecal Fest, giving members of the public the chance to win bulk amounts — ranging from garbage bags ($4) to pickup truck beds ($60) — of its coveted Zoo Doo through a mail-in lottery system.
Mixture of manures
Zoo Doo is an exotic compost of animal manures combined with straw bedding, grass, leaves and wood chips. Twenty-six of the zoo’s non-primate herbivores like elephants, hippos, zebras and giraffes contribute to the Zoo Doo.
“All manure is good,” Corum said. “What makes Zoo Doo special is it comes from the animals at the zoo, so some people think their tomatoes might get as big as an elephant.”
Corum said Zoo Doo is popular with a wide range of people, including urban gardeners, p-patch community gardeners and even people with small, indoor plants. Because of this popularity, he said the lottery system is necessary and gives about one in four people who enter the chance to purchase the compost.
Greenwood gardener Julie Sayigh said she was chosen to purchase compost last fall after submitting her first entry to the lottery. She used Zoo Doo in her garden to provide insulation and prevent weeds during the winter.
“Our goal was to mulch the beds for the winter,” Sayigh said. “We found that the compost smelled great and had a wonderful texture and color. Who knows if it worked better than regular compost, but it certainly did its job over the winter.”
Also available during Fecal Fest is a composted mulch called Bedspread, which is similar to Zoo Doo but contains more wood chips and sawdust. According to Corum, Bedspread, which he said is used in the Woodland Park Rose Garden, is great to place around trees and shrubs.
Falaah Jones is an educator on the Garden Hotline at Seattle Tilth, which teaches organic gardening and sustainable practices through various programs. She said that many people use Bedspread around certain plants, like rose bushes, to give them that extra “boost.”
“I have used Bedspread myself as a homeowner,” Jones said. “You could use it as a mulch around any of your roses, vegetables or any edibles. Spread it a couple inches deep, and use it like any other compost.”
It takes three months to prepare these recycled concoctions, frequently mixing and watering the organic materials and allowing them to reach temperatures upwards of 150 degrees to destroy pathogens and weed seeds.
The process takes six months from start to finish, allowing the Woodland Park Zoo to celebrate its Fecal Fest biannually.
The zoo accumulates nearly 1 million pounds of compost every year, which, if not sold to the public, would rack up a bill of almost $60,000 every year in disposal costs. Instead, Corum said the lottery allows the zoo to use this money to buy more food for the animals.
“This way, the process never stops,” he said.
Hitting the jackpot
All submissions to the Zoo Doo lottery should be postmarked by Friday, March 18. Include your name, phone number, preference of Zoo Doo or Bedspread and desired amount, as well as weekday or weekend preferred pick-up date. Lucky winners will be notified before the pick-up dates occurring April 8 to 24.
Questions about the Zoo Doo lottery can be directed to the Poop Hotline at (206) 625-7667.
Not looking for manure in such massive amounts? Sealed packages of Zoo Doo can be bought year-round from the zoo’s gift shops in pint-size containers ($4.95) or 2-gallon buckets ($12.95). During the holiday season, special 4-gallon buckets of Holidoo ($20) can also be purchased.
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