Fort Worth’s Silver Creek Materials and the Dallas Zoo in an Enriching Partnership

Silver Creek Materials, a nearly 40-year- old Fort Worth recycling, composting, and mining company headed by founder Robert Dow, has entered a partnership with the Dallas Zoo to convert tons of herbivore manure annually into a rich organic compost called Zoo Poo.

Zoo Poo is 100 percent Organic Herbivore Compost, made by privately-owned Silver Creek Materials in Fort Worth from manure generated by herbivores at the Dallas Zoo, including elephants, giraffes and hippos. Zoo Poo is rich in nutrients and an excellent source of organic matter. The manure, with its mixture of hay and bedding material, creates an impeccable composted blend for potted plants, growing gardens, and landscape.

Photo courtesy of Silver Creek Materials

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.

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 percent 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; this material can easily be converted into compost. Silver Creek Materials projects it will take 100 percent of herbivore manure from the Dallas Zoo beginning this year.

A truckload of herbivore manure from the Dallas Zoo arrives at the Silver Creek Materials facility twice a week and is converted into Zoo Poo. Photo: Taylor McKay for Silver Creek Materials

“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,” Dow, who founded Silver Creek in 1983, said.

“Each year, our herbivorous animals like elephants, giraffes, and okapi produce more than two million pounds of manure,” said Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo’s president and chief executive officer. “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.”