No plastic (poop) bags?
Happy Earth Day! Even our pets are getting earth friendly. I’ve got to admit, I love the idea. Biodegradable doggie bags have been around for a while, now the selection of good-for-the-earth pet products is getting larger. (From dog beds made with organic cotton to toys made of recycled soda bottles.)
Of all the products available, I wish there was a healthier, more earth-friendly cat litter. What are your favorite Earth-friendly pet products? What earth-friendly product would you like to see?
Now that grocery stores like Whole Foods are eliminating plastic bags altogether (story), what are you using for poop bags? If you’re like me, surely your stock of plastic is running low.
For more information on Living Green, check out our Earth Day page on ajc.com.
Home page photo by Chris Hunt / AJC, shows a non-toxic, recyclable Orbee-Tuff dog toy from Planet Dog.
Share This
My dogs are earth friendly after every meal……..
Request a comment be removed
Despite biodegradeable poop bags, when city workers find them in yard waste bags they pull them out and leave them on the street and sidewalk. It may not make sense, but I’ve seen it happen over and over on our street. Please be considerate. When disposing of poop bags, drop them in a regular trash can - not the yard waste bag that happens to be closest. Otherwise the homeowner is going to have to clean up after you and move your dog’s poop to the appropriate trash can. No nice.
Request a comment be removed
some poop bags labeled “biodegradeable” are not considered “compostable” by California standards. Sure, they cost more but I don’t feel bad about throwing away an unbiodegradeable bag, they take up less space and waste less plastic to produce. If only there was a commercially available way to convert energy from pet poop! With as many pets that Americans own, we could save our energy crisis. BTW, Feline Pine cat litter claims to be all natural, chemical free and made from 100% materials (”No trees were harmed”).
Request a comment be removed
I only use poop bags on walks. In the yard I use a scooper & toss the poop into a huge mass of ivy.
As far as cat litter, I’ve used feline pine and it’s ok but if you want clumping litter, use Swheat Scoop (http://www.swheatscoop.com/). It clumps well, is biodegradable and isn’t scented. My cats prefer it to the clay clumping litters.
Request a comment be removed
Misti, the problem is, I have dogs that are litter box trained. You can’t use clumping litter with dogs (in case they ever eat it. Dogs do silly things some times.) I tried the pine pellets and they hate it. I hate the clay for health reasons, but it’s all they’ll use. Sigh.
Request a comment be removed
They also make biodegradable litter boxes now.
Request a comment be removed
The plastic bags I get from Kroger aren’t enough to last each week, since I have two large dogs. The current price of the biodegradable bags keeps me from buying them. Right now I pick up small wastebasket size bags at the grocery store, which then end up inside a large Hefty garbage bag until weekly trash pickup. I hate it, I just know that stuff will still be double bagged for the next hundred years. I would love to see closable paper bags, maybe lined in waxed paper to keep them from leaking.
Request a comment be removed
People should just not have so many dogs… or at least teach them to bury their poop!
Request a comment be removed
Me,
You should have left your statement in a poop bag.
Request a comment be removed
Try “The World’s Best Cat Litter”. It’s made from corn and is super absorbant. Clumps hard, but you can also flush it..it will break down in the bowl.
Request a comment be removed
I use the plastic sleeves the newspaper comes in to scoop the poop. It seems thinner than grocery store bags, so maybe it will biodegrede quicker?
Request a comment be removed
Poop is bio-degradable right? You don’t see birds picking up their crap or people picking up horse/cow turds. My dog likes to dump in the middle of a bush. I like to think of her as fertilizing it…that bush by the way has lovely flowers.
Request a comment be removed
Unfortunately, nothing, biodegradable or not, degrades in a landfill. Because of that, plastic grocery bags are actually better for the enviroment because it takes less resources to make them (and recycle them)than it does to make or recycle paper. Sad but true. You just can’t win…unless you compost the biodegradable bags and use reusable canvas grocery bags for shopping.
Request a comment be removed
Quite frankly, dog poop is totally biodegradable; my dog has never had his poop scooped and I don’t intend to start now. I have, however, trained him to poop only in the “wild” areas of our neighborhood, not to either piss or poop on the sod or planted areas…..Some of my neighbors are amazed at that! But, if you train them from the start, you CAN have your animal leave everything to nature and allow nature to take it’s course. If they do it in your yard, simply hose it down & all particles will break down and be absorbed into the earth and NOT leave dead/brown spots.
Request a comment be removed
Newspaper.
Request a comment be removed
The only time I pick up my dogs’ poop is when we are on a walk. I don’t pick it up in the backyard, as it is fertilizer. They also poop up around the fence, not in the middle of the yard…..
Request a comment be removed
We use “Schweat” cat litter, which is made from wheat. It works pretty well if you keep the box cleaned out on a regular basis.
Request a comment be removed
I also use newspaper bags, and those bags from Subway. I just don’t eat there enough to get a nice stock of poop bags.
Request a comment be removed
There does not seem to be a cost effective poop bag for walks. In the yard I use the poo to fill in the holes my doglets dig. That moves them on to another spot!
Request a comment be removed
FYI to all who believe dog poop is fertilizer. If your dog is strictly on a vegetarian diet than yes his poop is fertilizer. If not which most dogs aren’t, it is not. If your dog eats meat then their poop kills vegetation. Just a FYI.
Request a comment be removed
Reading this just made me very thankful that we don’t have any pets.
Request a comment be removed
zip-lock sandwich bags work fine. Use bigger bags if you have a large dog.
Request a comment be removed
Let’s start a new subject:
When you have neighbors you dont know and don’t want to know. How do you get them to stop putting their barking dogs out at 12 midnight.
I would approach them, but if they are that rude and stupid to put their dogs out at that time then they most likely they will not be accomadating to my request. More than likely they will bring out a shot gun. I am not going to kiss their butts either.
We need new DOG BARKING LAWS IN DEKALB COUNTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Request a comment be removed
Please don’t throw plastic dog poop bags in other peoples trash bins on trash day! Carry it home or to your own trash. My trash can smelled for weeks last summer and stunk up my garage.
Request a comment be removed
Woody…. not that you should have to pay for this, but pet stores sell a dog frequency transmitter for people in your situation. It makes a high frequency noise that only dogs can hear that discourages them from barking.
Request a comment be removed
Young1 - Then why are you here?
Request a comment be removed
Caroline - ever thought about cleaning that garbage can out?
If I am walking my dog, and your garbage container is at the curb on trash day, I’m sticking the poo bag in your can. It all ends up in the same place, so why do you care?
After all, I do believe that when your container sits at the curb anyone can do what they want with it……a private investigator can go through it, so can the PoPo…..
Request a comment be removed
Caroline, I’m glad you mentioned that. I may have to go get one. I have a neighbor who keeps his dog tied up between two trees, and this dog barks for HOURS at a time.
Request a comment be removed
Storm, you are thoughtless and rude. Why should Caroline be forced to clean her trash can because you’re too lazy to properly care for your pet?
You’re in the south now. Learn SOME GOOD MANNERS.
Request a comment be removed
The biodegradability of the bag is the least of our worries! When you leave dog feces on the ground or toss it in the bushes, you’re essentially planting a disease garden, endangering you, your family, and other animals in the vicinity. Parasites and bacteria present in ALL dog waste (yes, even YOUR pet’s waste) can persist in the lawn long after the feces has “disappeared”. If that’s not bad enough, these organisms then enter the waste water system to wreak more havoc. And the decay of the poop creates nutrients for harmful algae that can reduce O2 levels in the water and asphyxiate sea life! Scoop it up!
Request a comment be removed
It is lazy, self-centered and probably passive aggressive to toss your dog poop in other’s Herbie Curbies… fully knowing that they have to deal with the stinky and sometimes messy consequences of this toxic waste. You do know better; you just don’t want to bother to do the right thing. If you’re saying the poop’s no big deal, then walk the talk, be a good neighbor and take it back to your own trash can. Like I and most others are careful to do with our own pup’s poop.
Request a comment be removed