Latest news with #petwaste
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Dog poop isn't allowed in Sudbury roadside litter containers
City officials are reminding the public that they don't want to see dog waste left in litter bins around Greater Sudbury. The city of Greater Sudbury has approximately 230 roadside litter containers across the municipality and staff want to remind residents dog waste is not allowed in them. Nataly Whissell, Manager of Collection and Recycling says its not uncommon for the city to do a mail blitz to send out reminders of where the waste should go instead. 'They should be bringing it home. A couple of options there. Mixing it with your regular garbage. So we do have a maximum amount of 10% volume in your garbage can, residents can also participate in a dog waste digester support program. They can flush their the dog feces in the toilet. They can consider hiring a company to remove the pet waste. And, of course, there's always the option to deliver the extra pet waste directly to a landfill site,' she said. Whissell tells CTVNews there are several reasons why people are not allowed to dispose of pet waste in the containers. 'Often, times when there's too much dog waste in a bin, it'll cause it to be overloaded, it becomes overweight and then we can't collect from it. So we have to send extra resources out to collect. It also makes roadside litter containers pretty dirty and smelly for anybody in the surrounding area and certainly increases the likelihood that the waste collector and surrounding properties and surrounding vehicles could be sprayed with the disease causing bacteria found in dog poop,' she said. Michel Babin walks his dog along Bancroft Drive sometimes up to three times a day. Often finding dog poop bags and trash on the side of the road. 'I've been putting it into the garbage bins with the last one. It says waste…I didn't even know. I had no clue," he said. Hope McKinlay has a 3-year-old dog and says it doesn't make sense. 'There's a garbage bin for garbage. You want me to put my Gatorade bottles, my food waste, stuff like that but I can't put actual waste like 100% not if it's human. Maybe not, but dog waste is kind of the one thing that the reason is the garbage. So it's not just strewn along the trails where people walk, where they hike. I wouldn't want to step in that. I'd rather it be in the garbage,' she said. For more information on pet waste visit
Sustainability Times
4 days ago
- Sustainability Times
Chinese Product Designer Yihan Luo Showcased 'Pikapoo' at Milan Design Week 2025
By Hina Dinoo Her award-winning autonomous pet waste system, Pikapoo, was featured at Tortona Design Week as part of Milan Design Week 2025 under the theme 'Design rEvolution: Creative Connections.' Chinese product designer Yihan Luo recently presented her groundbreaking robotic system Pikapoo at the 2025 edition of Milan Design Week, the world's most influential design event. Her project was exhibited within the Tortona Design Week district—one of the festival's key venues—under the curatorial theme 'Design rEvolution: Creative Connections.' The showcase highlighted innovative design responses to contemporary social and environmental challenges, and Luo's project stood out for its integration of sustainable technology, user-centered design, and urban health awareness. Held from April 7 to 13, 2025, Tortona Design Week transformed Milan's Tortona district into a dynamic laboratory of creativity, innovation, and research. Under the theme 'Design rEvolution: Creative Connections,' the event celebrated the power of connections in the design world, bringing together disciplines, ideas, and visions to create a week of discoveries and inspiration. The district hosted a diverse array of exhibitions and installations, focusing on smart materials, sustainable infrastructures, and designs that engage the senses. International brands and designers converged to explore new perspectives on contemporary design, fostering a dialogue that merges aesthetics, technology, and functionality. Conceived during China's COVID-19 lockdown, Pikapoo emerged from Luo's observations of widespread pet waste on neighborhood lawns and her user research into pet owner behaviors. Many respondents mistakenly believed that dog feces acted as natural fertilizer. In truth, dog waste contains bacteria harmful to vegetation and public health. Existing cleanup tools offered little innovation—often requiring direct contact and lacking eco-friendly disposal methods. In response, Luo developed Pikapoo , an autonomous robotic pet waste management system that combines product design, interaction design, and service design. The system includes a mobile app-controlled robot ( Poobot ) that identifies and collects waste, and a companion unit ( Poobase ) that composts it into fertilizer using biological catalysts. The system also offers health diagnostics by analyzing samples, providing pet owners with medical insights via the app. Following its debut as her graduation project, Pikapoo quickly garnered widespread attention. Luo collaborated with an engineer to further refine the design before submitting it to international competitions. The project won multiple honors, including the 2025 iF Design Award (Robotics), the IDA Design Award, and the 2025 French Design Award, recognizing both its functionality and environmental relevance. These accolades helped secure its selection for exhibition at Milan Design Week 2025—a key milestone in Luo's early career. At the Tortona venue, Pikapoo was exhibited alongside other future-facing solutions focused on urban sustainability and smart interaction. Visitors experienced a live demonstration of the robot's capabilities, the composting cycle, and health reporting features, illustrating the full lifecycle of how waste can be transformed into insight and utility. The installation embodied Tortona's mission to highlight 'connected design' that merges aesthetics, responsibility, and technology. About the Designer Yihan Luo is an interaction and product designer known for her ability to merge sustainability, social impact, and emerging technologies. Educated at ArtCenter College of Design and the University of Southern California, Luo's design philosophy is rooted in bridging physical systems with digital user experiences. Her work addresses overlooked problems—like uncollected dog waste—and reimagines them as opportunities for environmental and social innovation. Her participation in Milan Design Week 2025 signals a growing international recognition of Chinese designers engaging with global issues through deeply considered, human-centered approaches. As she continues to develop solutions at the intersection of robotics, ecology, and user behavior, Luo is poised to become a leading voice in next-generation design thinking. Did you like it? 4.5/5 (22)
