Grocery Store Bags Being Eliminated
What should dog owners now use to clean-up dog poop?
Recognizing the negative impact that plastic bags have on our environment, some eco-conscious stores, such as Whole Foods, have completely eliminated plastic bags at checkout. Many other stores are now charging customers for plastic bags ranging anywhere from $0.05 to $0.25 to discourage plastic bag usage. 
While most plastic bags are recyclable, the sad fact is that the majority of consumers do not participate in recycling, and these bags end up in our landfills. Since most plastics do not biodegrade easily (average estimates put the plastic life-span around 100 years), they become a lasting problem on our environment. In addition to the biodegradability concerns, approximately 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year worldwide, according to Planet Ark, an international environmental group. So here is the problem- dog owners that used plastic bags collected from grocery stores to pick up dog waste now need a different supply for dog waste clean-up. What are the new eco-conscious options? 1. Perhaps the most green option out there is composting. There are a number of different home-based composting units that are specially designed to accommodate dog waste. This is perhaps the most eco-conscious route to go, but it certainly takes some dedication from the dog owner to install and maintain these units.
2. Biodegradable plastic bags are now commercially available. These are designed for the task of picking up dog poop, so they are sturdy and won’t leave a mess on your hands when you pick up dog waste. Rascodog Readybags are 100% biodegradable bags and break down within one year of use.
3. Leave your dog poop on the ground. Completely unacceptable! You will be scorned by non-dog owners and dog owners alike. Pick up the poop!
Biodegradable bags, may be the most viable option for the majority of people. So, what makes bags biodegradable? In July 2000 the US Composting Council and the Biodegradable Products Institute announced a certification program based on ASTM Standard D 6400-99 for materials suitable for composting applications. By definition a biodegradable plastic is a degradable plastic in which the degradation results from the action of naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae (ASTM D 6400-99). All Rascodog biodegradable Readybags fall under the ASTM D6400 Standard for biodegradable bags. So what is you weapon of choice? Do you have the time and energy to put into composting? Are you still using regular plastic bags or have you made the switch to biodegradables? For more information about ways to recycle plastics check out:
http://sfgov.org/site/frame.asp?u=http://www.sfenvironment.com
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Plastic/Prevention/
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/1188.html
And for a great post about different dog poop disposal methods see: What to do with the doo? from Raise A Green Dog.
I too have been wondering what to do here in DC when plastic bags are banned later this year. I’ve come to rely on Giant bags and the newspaper bags as great poop bags.
Yes, Racsodog bags may be better, but sadly, you’re fighting for attention and money when I’m thinking of much more pressing issues when in line at the store. That and I have the feeling (no proof yet) that poop bags, like many doggy-specific items, are much more expensive than generic items. Tennis balls are a great example – crazy overpriced if I buy doggy-centric ones, dirt cheap if I buy regular balls & Taxi Dog doesn’t note a difference.
What’s the cost comparison between Racsodog and a gross of plastic bags at Costco?
Wayan, thanks for your comment and concerns.
We recognize that there are quite a few biodegradable bags out their on the market. Our bags were designed specifically so you don’t walk around with a bunch of bags in your pocket or hand and a leash in another. The ReadyBags sit inside the handle of the leash and have a tab on every roll so they pull out easily.
In terms of cost, a package of 180 bags is only 7.2 cents per bag!! 180 bags will last for months and you won’t have to continually go to the store to buy new bags. The ReadyBags are 5 cents less than your bulk standard plastic from Costco, 18 cents lower than plastic grocery bags that cost 25 cents and much lower than many of the other biodegradable bags out there.
Ah, now you’re talking. I like that they are cheaper, but the biodegradable angle doesn’t do anything for me – I know how airtight landfills are. With the way we currently dispose and compact trash in landfills, biodegradable bags don’t. Nothing much does. They are just piles for our grandchildren to mine for resources we wasted.
Great info! Thanks for linking to our post about what to do with the doo! Lots of options for varying lifestyles
Woofs, Johann, co-author RaiseAGreenDog.com
Johann´s last blog ..Reduce, reuse, recycle!
As the founder of PILE (People Intent on Leaving Excretement) I would ask you to reconsider your stand on the environmentally unsound practice of “scooping.”
Millions of tons of plastic bags and paper towels end up in landfills each year. Rather than killing a tree to make paper towels to pickup doo-doo, why not let the dog fertilize that tree nature’s way? Over it’s life time, that same tree will process billions of cubic feet of carbon dioxide emissions and provide beauty, shade and oxygen for all of us. Isn’t that a better idea than killing God’s green gifts and wrapping them around dog turds to moulder for eternity?
For the sake of the environment, we can all watch where we walk. It’s a small price to pay.
Mike, thanks for your comment. I’m not entirely convinced that leaving dog poop on the ground is the best way to go for the environment. It carries a lot of parasites that contaminate the soil and water. I agree with your stance on plastic bags- which is why we ask that people use biodegradable bags. You might argue that biodegradable plastics still leave waste, but at this time it is the best option for picking up the poop. So, until as a dog community we discover a better way of disposing of dog poop, I believe this is the best way to go!