Thanks for the gift… but no thanks!
Or how a few dog poo bags ruined our volunteers' morning.
Dear fellow composters,
A few days ago, our volunteers got a surprise. Not a basket of vegetables, not a thank-you note, no: several dog poo bags, carefully filled and carefully tied, left in the middle of the garden waste at the platform.
Let's start with the congratulations, because they are deserved: you pick up after your dog. Well done, honestly. The pavement thanks you, and so do passers-by's shoes.
It's the next step in the reasoning that escapes us. Someone thought: "Poo is natural. Natural things compost. Off to the platform it goes!" The plastic bag was presumably considered gift wrapping.
🚫 So let's state the obvious
🐕 No animal droppings
Neither dog nor cat, neither in the garden waste nor in the windrow. They can carry parasites and bacteria that have no place in a compost meant for our vegetable gardens, including the school children's garden.
🛍️ No bags
Plastic, "biodegradable", "compostable": all refused. They don't break down in our compost and end up as confetti in the soil.
🐈 No pet litter
It's already on our list of refused items. Poo in a bag is the same thing… with plastic as a bonus.
🧤 And now, who deals with it?
Our volunteers do. They didn't sign up to rummage through garden waste looking for suspicious little bags and pull them out by hand. They give their time, their energy and their mornings so that Grosbreuil has a clean platform and quality compost, open to everyone.
Respecting volunteers: is it really that hard?
Doing it right takes three seconds: the poo bag goes in the general household waste bin. Not in the compost, not in the garden waste, not in the windrow. The list of accepted items is displayed on site and available in our "What can be composted in Grosbreuil?" sheet (in French).
❓ Not sure? Just ask!
Our volunteers welcome you at the hut on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 10 am to 12 noon. You can also email us at
We'd much rather get a question than a bag of poo.
To the person (or people) behind this drop-off: we don't hold it against you personally… well, maybe a little. But we know you'll do better next time.
Thank you to the many, many people who sort their waste properly and make this project possible. 💚
The Compostons Ensemble team
