The Dallas Zoo announced that “Zoo Poo” will be on the shelves at their gift shop, local specialty stores, and at Silver Creek Materials’ headquarters in Fort Worth. Zoo Poo is manure from herbivores converted to compost to add nutrients to home gardens and landscaping.
The Dallas Zoo has partnered with Silver Creek Materials, an organic recycling company that has been in business and under the same owner since 1983. Silver Creek Materials and the Dallas Zoo will gather manure from herbivores, including hippos, giraffes, and elephants, to create the nutrient-filled compost. Over two million pounds of manure is produced by herbivores at the Dallas Zoo each year.
According to Green Source DFW, “The animal manure with its mixture of hay and bedding material, creates compost for potted plants, growing gardens, landscape areas, and anywhere soil can benefit from additional nutrients.”
Zoo Poo can retain moisture, enrich the soil, defeat pests and plant disease, helps to aid in strong root systems, and lower the need for chemical fertilizers.
Dallas Innovates mentions that the Dallas Zoo would transport manure and dump it at landfills, such as McCommas Bluff Landfill in south Dallas.
Silver Creek Materials has around one-hundred and thirty employees in Fort Worth. Their operations include working with organic materials, composting, recycling, and mining for sediments such as sand. When creating the compost from the zoo’s manure, they only add water.
Founder and owner of Silver Creek Materials, Robert Dow, stated, “Silver Creek Materials has been committed to recycling for nearly 40 years, and this partnership with the Dallas Zoo deepens that promise to our environment.”
Gregg Hudson, the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Dallas Zoo, shared, “The Dallas Zoo is committed to conservation and sustainability as we work to create a better world for animals, and we are thrilled to partner with Silver Creek Materials to make an even bigger impact.”
According to Advocate Oak Cliff, trucks will come to the zoo two times a week to load manure on board and transport it to Silver Creek, which will convert it to compost and package it up.
Zoo Poo can be mixed with soil or used on the top of garden beds. At Dallas Zoo’s gift shop, four-quart packages and one-cubic-foot bags will be available. Silver Creek Materials and local retailers will offer one-cubic-foot bags and the option to purchase Zoo Poo in bulk.
Some of the proceeds with the sale of Zoo Poo will go towards organizations that support worldwide wildlife conservation, Dallas Zoo’s “Protecting the Twelve” program to aim in the direction of protecting extinction.