Hi, my name is Stephanie Chow and I started an Asheville-based business called Pet Poo Skiddoo back in 2015 where I scooped dog waste in residential yards and changed out pet waste stations for commercial properties. Soon realizing how much I was taking to the landfill, and learning about the millions of pounds of pet waste being thrown out every year, I made it my mission to help our community and find a way to divert the unnecessary waste from our landfills. Two and a half years later, I had created my own method to safely compost both dog and cat waste and had purchased land in a remote area of Black Mountain to process all of it.

I knew my efforts would never make me a ‘rich person’. There are actually hundreds of pet waste removal companies around the country charging similar rates, but still taking everything to the dump. Despite this, I was still willing to invest my life savings to do the ‘right thing’.

Money was always tight and I was never able to pay myself as all of our profits had to go straight back into our composting site. Just this past January, I was able to secure a loan to purchase an electric rotary composter that could handle a lot more waste and required a lot less labor. While I believed I was following all rules and regulations with North Carolina state and Buncombe county, once we applied for our electrical permit, the county then informed us of a list of permits that we were not aware that we needed.

While I tried my best to satisfy the county's needs, spending close to $10,000 in permitting and engineering fees, the cost for a stormwater permit would be at least another $30,000 - money that I just don’t have nor gain access to.

You may have followed our story on Change.org or seen us on the local news, but I tried to work with the county over the past 9 months to find a way to lower that cost, explaining to them that we would otherwise have to close our composting operation. Sadly the county would not budge and we’ve been forced to halt all composting efforts.

I’ve been quite discouraged to say the least as I’ve been operating in a county that claims to want to be greener yet offers zero help to a small green business like myself. I am at a crossroads now. In order to obtain the $30,000 to move forward, I have two options: One is to let one of my two employees go - I would then step in to cover their route, and, over time, that scooper’s salary could be applied towards the permitting fees. The other option is to sell off the composting equipment - of course that would permanently end any future for Pet Poo Skiddoo to compost, but at least the property would be in compliance and no longer under threat of facing additional fines, and of course no one would lose their job.

Before making my decision, I wanted to first try to see if we can raise the funding from our supporters.

Our Change.org petition recently reached just over 1,000 signatures. If each person could just donate $30, we would secure our funding and immediately start composting again once the county has cleared all of their inspections.

Of course whatever you can donate will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely thank you, Stephanie Chow.