Pet Waste

Pet waste belongs in the trash

Dog poop left on the ground contaminates our streams and lakes. A single gram of dog poop, about the size of a pea, contains 23 million fecal coliform bacteria that can make people and other animals sick. Picking up your dog’s poop is critical to keeping our local water clean.

Image of dog on a leash in a park with the dog walker paused and kneeling down to pick up dog poop with a dog waste bag over their hand. — Pollution in our city - including pet waste – is washed into Bellevue’s stormwater water system which flows untreated into Lake Sammamish or Lake Washington. Keep our lakes clean by picking up after your pet(s).

Bellevue has over 26,000 dogs, producing over 6,500 pounds of waste a day. Rain washes pet poop from yards, sidewalks and streets into our storm drains, which flow untreated into our local streams and lakes. A network of storm drains, pipes, culverts, ditches and streams, called our stormwater system, wind through our city sending the flow of rain, or runoff, directly into either Lake Sammamish or Lake Washington along with any pollution picked up along the way.

Be Prepared: Scoop it - Bag it - Put it in the Trash

Carry: Store dog waste bags on your dog’s leash with a dispenser or holder.
Plan: Have extra supplies by your door where you take dogs out for a walk.
Stash: Store some in your car, your coat pockets, and tie extra bags on the leash for those days the bag dispenser runs out.
New to Bellevue? Have a dog? Welcome. Let us send you some supplies (while they last). Email us at StreamTeam@bellevuewa.gov with your Bellevue mailing address and tell us the name of your dog(s).

Why should you always pick up dog poop?

Dog poop is raw sewage and is harmful to children.
Harmful micro-organisms, such as Roundworms, E. coli, and Giardia that can make people and pets sick are in dog poop.
Poop left in our yards or on our city’s surfaces gets washed directly into our streams and lakes without filtration of any kind flows into our storm drains and stormwater system and pollutes the water where we swim and play.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the law say?

Bellevue Municipal Code 24.06.125 protects water quality for all of us with rules about keeping all types of pollution out of our storm drains and stormwater system. Including: domestic animal wastes and sewage.

Property owners, businesses, and/or responsible parties of code violations may be subject to enforcement and penalties per Bellevue Municipal Code 24.06.130.

Bellevue Municipal Parks Code 3.43.140 protects our parks and water quality with rules about animal conduct and requires that dog poop is collected and removed.

What do these laws mean?

They mean you must pick up your pet’s poop and throw it away. Leaving it on the ground is against the law because rain will wash it into the street, storm drains and greater stormwater system, which carries rainwater and pollution unfiltered and untreated into our local streams and lakes.

Animals naturally poop in the woods, and we don’t pick it up. Why should I pick up after my dog?

There is nothing “natural” about 26,000 dogs in the City of Bellevue producing over 6,500 pounds of dog poop every single day.

Stormwater Awareness Survey from 2019 reports that 26 percent of Bellevue households own dogs.
According to 2025 census data, the City of Bellevue has about 63,000 households. The average dog-owning household has 1.6 dogs.
With 16,000 Bellevue households owning an average of 1.6 dogs, this means about 26,000 dogs live in the City of Bellevue.
Each dog produces about 0.25 pounds of poop a day, that’s more than 6,500 pounds of raw sewage made by dogs in the city every single day.

This much dog poop exposes people and pets to bacteria and diseases and affects our local water quality.

Can I compost dog poop and use it as fertilizer?

Dog poop is not compostable, and it is not a fertilizer. Home composters and commercial composters (such as Bellevue’s yard waste collection) do not get hot enough to kill the bacteria found in dog poop. Always throw your dog’s poop into the trash.

Can I flush dog poop?

Yes. Is it okay to flush pet poop. Only flush it with toilet paper. Do not flush tissues or paper towels they don’t break down in water like toilet paper and will clog pipes. Do not flush pet waste if you are on a septic system – the ash and fur in pet waste can clog septic systems.

Are biodegradable or compostable bags better than plastic ones?

Keeping dog poop out of our local streams and lakes is more impactful than the type of bag going to the landfill.

Your everyday choices keep our water clean

You can prevent pollution with smart home, car and yard care:

Always use a Commercial Car Wash for your car, truck or RV. This keeps soaps and chemicals out our of our storm drains and away from aquatic life in our creeks and lakes. Soap, even biodegradable, harms and can kill fish and insects. Biodegradable soap only degrades when filtered through soil.
Don't Drip and Drive. Fix Vehicle Leaks ASAP. Stop oil or other fluid leaks from dripping on the streets to keep it out of our lakes.
Practice Natural Yard Care Reducing or eliminating fertilizers and pesticides prevents them from washing into our creeks when it rains.
Pressure Wash & Skip the Soap. Use cold water and direct the water into landscaping so any pollution in the dirty water can filter though the soil and doesn’t reach our creeks or lakes.
Reduce Paved Areas & Add Landscaping. Prevent flooding and pollution by adding landscaping where rainwater can soak in and filter though the soil.