The Scoop on Poop

• Posted on 23 October 2012
• By Dr. Jill Tack
• 0

Hopefully, you are one of those responsible dog owners that picks up their pets poop on walks. If so, you may be using a handy plastic bag to do so. Well, you may be harming the environment and not even meaning too.

Hopefully, you are one of those responsible dog owners that picks up their pets poop on walks. If so, you may be using a handy plastic bag to do so. Well, you may be harming the environment and not even meaning too.

Here are the facts about poop:

• The average dog eliminates between a half pound and three quarters of a pound per day.
• About ten tons of waste per year. (A trash audit in the Bay Area discovered that dog waste accounts for nearly 4% of total landfill waste.)
• The typical grocery store plastic bags most of us use for dog waste take hundreds of years to degrade. The waste is basically being preserved in plastic and clogging the landfills.

Environmentally friendly alternatives:

• Instead of using traditional plastic bags, consider investing in bags that break down over time like biodegradable, compostable or flushable bags.
• There are many options available on the market, with costs per bag as low as .06 cents. Most biodegradable bags dissolve when exposed to the elements (the good ones can even do so in an anaerobic landfill environment), leaving the waste to break down naturally.
• Compostable poop bags can be used in back yard compost bins or at municipal composting facilities, though dog waste contains parasites that make it unsuitable for use near edible plants or in topsoil. Finally, flushable bags are an option for homes with enough flushing power and “healthy” sewer lines.

We carry Earthrated Poop Bags.

They are $5.99 for 120 bags and the dispensers are $1.99 each.  Pick some up this week and the next time your pooch poops, you will know you are doing your bit to help the earth!