Taylor McKay/Silver Creek Materials
A truckload of herbivore manure from the Dallas Zoo arrives at the Silver Creek Materials facility in west Fort Worth.
Silver Creek Materials, a nearly 40-year-old Fort Worth recycling, composting, and mining company, has entered a partnership with the Dallas Zoo to convert tons of herbivore manure annually into a rich organic compost called Zoo Poo, officials from both organizations announced Monday.
“Each year, our herbivorous animals like elephants, giraffes, and okapi produce more than two million pounds of manure,” says Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo’s president and CEO, in a statement. “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.”
Zoo Poo will be available at the Dallas Zoo gift shop, local specialty stores, and Silver Creek Materials in west Fort Worth. Silver Creek is making Zoo Poo from the manure of the Dallas Zoo’s elephants, giraffes, hippos, and other herbivores. The manure, with its mixture of hay and bedding material, creates an impeccable composted blend for potted plants, growing gardens, and landscape, officials say.
A portion of Zoo Poo sales will benefit international wildlife conservation organizations supported by the Dallas Zoo.
The Dallas Zoo has a goal of diverting 90% of its waste from landfills by 2030 as part of its commitment to sustainability. Animal manure is, by far, the heaviest part of waste generation at the Dallas Zoo. The material can easily be converted into compost. Silver Creek Materials projects it will take 100% of herbivore manure from the Dallas Zoo beginning this year.
The zoo plans to truck in manure twice a week to Silver Creek Materials' west Fort Worth plant.
“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,” says Robert Dow, who founded Silver Creek in 1983.