Be A More Eco-Conscious Dog Parent
Posted by Sandra Juliana Ericson on Feb 21st 2022
You recycle. You love the planet and you compost your vegetable waste too. Maybe you’re even a vegetarian and you love animals, so you’ve got a dog.
Let’s suppose that you live in the city and you’ve got to walk your dog in the cement jungle each day, picking up his poop to prevent it from being a hazard and also because the city will cite you if you don’t clean up after your pet.
But wait….how are plastic poop bags going to fit with your model of living? You don’t buy plastic things, you use glass jars and you have a stainless steel coffee mug that you take everywhere so that you don’t use plastic or waste paper.
Now you need to use plastic bags to pick up after your dog. This is the end of the world, right? Not at all! We’ve got your solution.
It’s A Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a … Biodegradable Poop Bag!
PoopBags offers a truly compostable bag that is made with plants, starch, and renewable resources. This isn’t the case with a lot of bags that claim to be green or eco friendly, this one is the real deal.
If you are looking for a way to do your part, then this is a great way to start. If you’ve been doing your part for a long time and hope to continue so, then this is a great way to continue doing things for the planet.
Life without plastic waste is a better life, just like life without dog poop everywhere is also a better life. If you pick up your dog’s waste in your own back yard, you can compost these bags in a doggy doolie or any other waste management system.
You can also compost these in a regular compost pile but be advised that dog waste isn’t really recommended for your garden. You can certainly spread it under trees and let it be filtered through the earth and back to nature in its own way though!
Using Shopping Bags that are Recyclable Isn’t Wise, Here’s Why
Many of the bags in shopping centers are now boasting that they are compostable and people think they can recycle them as poop bags and essentially being two-fold for the environment. Hold your horses on that thought. It’s a great thought but it is way off base.
In fact, those bags don’t break down without reaching very high temperatures and they need UVB light to break down.
That means that if they are buried in a landfill, they aren’t going to break down or decompose. In fact, many of the bags were studied and found to not decompose at all. Big fail!
This misleading information has literally led to more trash and people recycling less because they think they are doing okay.
Not true, my friends. We can all do better and this is simply one of the many ways in which we can make a difference for the planet. Your dog will be proud of you too.
Doing All You Can
Helping the planet also means helping other animals as well. It’s hard to believe that just switching to the poop bag will matter but it does. When you make one better choice, other good choices start to become natural.
By loving your dog and your city, and caring about the planet, you’ll be helping a dolphin or a turtle to live in a cleaner ocean halfway around the world. If more people understood the impact of one simple choice that they make, they’d do more to make better choices.
Take the time to learn about other environmentally friendly changes that you can make and how to ensure that neither you nor your dog is making any detrimental impacts on the planet. Keep your carbon footprint small and reuse and recycle all that you can.
There are thousands of ways that we can all make changes to make a difference and impact the rest of the planet. You’re faced with a dozen choices before breakfast if you stop and think about it. Is your toothbrush plastic? Try bamboo. Is your toothpaste filled with chemicals that are washed down the drain? Try using baking soda which will leave your teeth pearly white!
Helping the planet isn’t hard. The changes don’t have to be painful. It doesn’t require tremendous sacrifices. You’ve got this one in the bag already. We’re so proud of you!
Taking It Even Further
If you are truly an environmental warrior, you may be interested in some other solutions that benefit our planet.
Consider that dog toys are often made with materials that do not break down and fill landfills each year. Each item that you purchase for your dog, he destroys, and you throw in the trash, is littering the planet.
Biodegradable Dog Toys
Making the switch to biodegradable dog toys is possible. There are several brands that are making these types of toys and you can feel better about your purchase, knowing that you are doing more than the bare minimum for both the planet and your dog.
Biodegradable Dog Bed
Another consideration is what type of bedding you purchase for your dog. Is it made with biodegradable materials? Do you even know? You can purchase dog beds and bedding materials that are biodegradable and show your seriousness about being a good steward of the planet. They’re also safer in the event that your dog decides to shred them. It happens.
Biodegradable Dog Shampoo
Another thing that many people don’t give as much thought as they probably should is the shampoos and haircare products that are used on their pets. Read the labels and check to see if the soaps in the shampoos are biodegradable. If they are, then you can rest knowing that you are not contaminating groundwater or the soil.
Shampoos that are not biodegradable can be detrimental to the earth, killing plants, contaminating soil and changing the pH of that soil for years. This makes it hard to grow plants in contaminated soil, leading to bare areas. The lack of greenery, as you probably know, is a contributing factor in the planet’s temperature rising.
That’s right, global warming can be impacted by the constant use of shampoos dumped into the environment and down your drains. Non-biodegradable shampoos are like dumping chemicals down your drain and they surely can’t be good for your dog’s skin -- any more than your shampoos can be good if they are filled with chemicals that harm the environment.
Final Words
Taking the steps to choose biodegradable poop bags, dog toys, bedding, and shampoo will help ensure that our planet is left in better condition for our children and our grandchildren. As they say, we should leave it better than we found it.