First things first, I think that the vast majority of the 44% of Americans and 30% of Canadians that own dogs shouldn’t. That is simply too many dogs. Many of them are left alone all day and develop separation anxiety. Many of them are purchased for children who quickly lose interest in their companion. In my opinion, the best alternative to using a plastic bag to pick up dog poop is to never get a dog in the first place. If Barack Obama hadn’t made a promise to his kids, I would have been busily advocating for a pet free White House. I just recently had a talk with my kids explaining that we were definitely not getting a dog. When my kids were much younger, we did own a black lab-like mutt that came from the SPCA. Buddy lived a great life with us until his epilepsy became untenable and I made the decision to have him put down. When I lived out in the country, it never crossed my mind to pick up after him.
Not picking up after your dog at all is an alternative to using plastic bags. If you live out in the country this might be the logical choice. If you live in a community with strict laws and/or entrenched social norms related to dog poop it might be a bad choice.
If you have a dog already and have a legal, moral and/or social obligation to pick up dog feces, you can get biodegradable poop bags. Sometimes Petco has coupons for them. They are made from corn and degrade completely in just a couple of weeks. I can think of one thing that would make this product better. The compostable plastic industry should come to some kind of consensus about labeling so that their product won’t be confused with regular plastic. I know some people who used to get really mad when dog walkers would toss a plastic bag of poop in their municipal compost bin. The workers would see the plastic and refuse to empty the bin. I think these black compostable bags would cause the same problem.
Love your website and your topic–awesome! Have you tried Flushpuppies? I’ve meant to order some, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. They are new. Supposedly the bag and its contents can be discarded into our toilets, as the bag dissolves within seconds of contact with the water. The waste is taken care of in a system that is meant for taking care of it. Ingenious!
Another option is to use plastic bags discarded by other people. I walk at least five miles each day, and whenever I pass a plastic bag drifting along the street or caught in bushes, I pick it up and save it for use as a poop bag or trash bag. These are bags that would otherwise tear into ever-smaller pieces and pollute the environment, so using them in a way that will result in them going into a trash can is beneficial for the environment. If my city ever bans plastic bags, as I hope it will, I’ll start buying compostable bags, but until then, I don’t anticipate any shortage in the supply of discarded plastic bags.
I pick up the occasional drifting bag myself even though I don’t have a dog. My beach walks usually involve me walking until I find some bag or large container and then filling it before heading to a dumpster.
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Thank you for saying this! The trashcans in our public parks in SF were often filled with dozens of bags of poop left for the City workers to pick up. Many people need to more carefully consider whether or not to have pets, and if so how many, in light of the environmental impact of pet ownership.
I love dogs and dogs love me, but my dog ‘ownership’ has been pretty low. The two that I have had in my adult life were both shelter dogs.