Are you aware of the harm your dog’s plastic poop bags may cause?

[by Navily Zhen] By now we can understand the dangerous effects that plastic has made on our environment. How long do plastic items take to decompose? Well for plastic bags, it takes anywhere from 10 to 1000 years to decompose. Most dogs poop 1-5 times a day, meaning the plastic bags you use to pick up their poop may take 10 to 5000 years to decompose. With an estimation of around 900 million dogs on this planet, the usage of plastic poop bags have a significant impact on our environment.

Some have recommended flushing your dog’s waste down the toilet, while others recommended composting. However, it is not advised to throw poop bags in the regular trash (as they end up in landfills which releases methane gas into the air) nor advised to use them as compost in gardens. The best environmentally-friendly way to get rid of your dog’s waste is to: flush it down the toilet (after checking your sewage guidelines), bury it away from gardens and water sources, and transport to a composting facility that accepts pet waste or hire a waste removal company.

Some brands have claimed their poop bags can be biodegradable, but that is not always the case. By purchasing environmentally-friendly poop bags, the issue of plastic poop bags can help significantly decrease the damages already done to our oceans and planet.

The most recommended biodegradable poop bags are:

• Pet N Pet Oxo-Biodegradable Pet Waste Bags
• Oxydoky Dog Poop Bags
• My AlphaPet Dog Poop Bags
• Doodie Flush Dog Poop Bag
• DogBuddy Pooper Scooper
• BioBag Pet Waste Bags
• Rover The Original Poop Bags
• Earth Rated Poop Bags
• BioDOGradable Bags

As a final reminder, eliminating plastic bag usage can positively affect our environment but can also benefit our dogs! Plastic reduction can decrease the risk of your dog, as well as other domesticated and wild animals, from possibly experiencing a severe abdominal infection, which can lead to sepsis (a blood infection) and death, so always look for environmentally-friendly options!

Works Cited

Cavanaugh, Rachel. “Be A More Eco-Conscious Dog Parent With These Biodegradable Poop
Bags.” Bustle, Bustle, 30 July 2018, www.bustle.com/p/the-5-best-biodegradable-dog-poop-bags-9912305.

Geier, Elisabeth. “If You Use Biodegradable Poop Bags, You Need to Read This.” The Dog
People by Rover.com, 11 May 2020, www.rover.com/blog/truth-about-biodegradable-poop-bags-in/.

Huval, Danielle. “My Dog Eats Everything! The Potential Complications of Ingesting a Foreign
Body.” Aspen Meadow, 2 July 2018, aspenmeadowvet.com/my-dog-eats-everything-the-potential-complications-of-ingesting
a-foreign-body/.

Kiss, Jemima. “Dog Poop Bags Are a Menace. But What’s the Green Alternative?” The
Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Jan. 2019, www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/15/dog-poop-bags-plastic-alternatives.

LeBlanc, Rick. “How Long Will It Take That Bag of Trash to Decompose in a Landfill?” The
Balance Small Business, The Balance Small Business, 22 Oct. 2019, www.thebalancesmb.com/how-long-does-it-take-garbage-to-decompose-2878033.

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