As far as pet care goes, there’s no worse chore than picking up poop. While the pet industry is racing to make this task easy and eco-friendly, several companies have made it worse by greenwashing the dog bags market.
I’ll be honest. I fell hook, line and sinker for Pets N Bags’ Environment Friendly Dog Waste Bags. Its Amazon page features phrases like “Help the Environment!” and “Earth Friendly,” and proudly boasts being 100% oxo-biodegradable. I figured that meant the dog bags were made of natural materials that would gracefully return to the planet, contributing to the magic of Mother Earth’s nutrient cycle.
It was a lovely thought while it lasted.
After some online research (because the box didn’t list any ingredients), I discovered that these dog bags are indeed made of plastic. The oxo-biodegradability stamp comes from using chemicals called Totally Degradable Plastic Additive (TDPA) from EPI Global that makes plastic degrade quicker in the presence of oxygen.
If you ask me, breaking big plastics into little plastics at a faster rate isn’t nearly enough to label a product eco-friendly. It doesn’t cut it for the Federal Trade Commission either. The FTC requires marketers to “qualify general claims with specific environmental benefits.” I have yet to come across a specific environmental benefit on EPI’s website.
In fact, I found the contrary. On it’s Environmental Claims in the USA page, EPI “advises our licensees and end-users not to make any environmental claims in the United States concerning the degradation and/or biodegradation of products incorporating TDPA™.”
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What does Pets N Bags say about its dog bags?
I searched the URL listed on the box (www.petsNbags.com) to ask what makes this product Earth-friendly and found nothing. The URL doesn’t exist. Then, I searched address on the box, which brought me to a company called i-Blason. This company sells mostly cell phone accessories and has only one pet product – Pets N Bags.
None of i-Blason’s other products are marked environmentally friendly, and there is nothing on its website to qualify Pets N Bags’ green claims.
Regardless of this product’s oxo-biodegradability, it’s still a bag made of virgin plastic. At best, these plastic bags is end up in landfills to break down into “carbon dioxide, water and biomass.”
That’s not a great best case scenario for any product.
If picking up dog crap isn’t bad enough, being duped into a false-sense of environmentalism is. The cherry on top is still having 300 or so of these bags that I no longer want to use. Pets N Bags, i-Blason and anyone making and marketing these things are definitely on my shit list.
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Deceptive terms for marketing dog bags
As it turns out, they aren’t the only offenders. In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission sent letters to 20 such marketers and manufactures warning that “their ‘biodegradable,’ ‘compostable,’ and other environmental claims may be deceptive.” The FTC did not release the letters or the names of the 20 companies in question.
“Such a claim without any qualification generally means to consumers that the product will completely break down into its natural components within one year after customary disposal. Most waste bags, however, end up in landfills where no plastic biodegrades in anywhere close to one year, if it biodegrades at all.”
Statement from a 2015 FTC press release regarding deceptive marketing of dog bags.
According to EPI’s website, TDPA allows “products such as polyethylene carrier bags to biodegrade within 24 – 36 months, when disposed of in an appropriate environment.”
There is no chance Pets N Bags meet the requirements of the FTC. Further, it is ridiculous that they continue to market themselves as environmentally friendly.
Here’s an entire list of pet waste bags made with EPI technology that are making similar Earh-friendly claims.
The Earth-friendliest pet waste solutions for Seattle
According to Seattle Public Utilities, pets in the Emerald City produce 50,000 pounds of waste per day. Responsibly disposing of this waste a bit trickier in the Seattle because of frequent rain and proximity to salmon habitat. Pet waste contains pathogens that can wash into watersheds where it poses a threat to salmon and other wildlife. For the same reason, pet waste should not be composted or left anywhere near edible garden beds.
So what do we do with it? We shouldn’t bury it, leave it, compost it, throw it in recycling or yard waste – what’s left?
Unfortunately, bagging and throwing pet waste in the trash is the method recommended by Seattle Public Utilities and Snohomish County. It’s not ideal to send more waste to the landfill, but it’s better than allowing it to wreak havoc in the local soils and watersheds.
Earth-friendly pet waste bags, from Rover
- BioBag Standard Pet Waste Bags: These bags are made with resin derived from plants, vegetable oils and compostable polymers. They can be composted at some municipal/industrial facilities, but not Cedar Grove. This is still a better option than petroleum based plastic bags.
- PoopBags.com: The Original Poop Bags sells three types of bags. One type is made from plants and renewable resources; another is USDA certified biobased (corn, vegetable oils, plant starch); and the third is made from up to 30% post-consumer/industrial materials. This company also donates to conservation organizations through its You Buy; We Donate program.
- bioDOGradable: These USDA Certified Biobased Products are 100% compostable, making them a preferred option to plastic bags. King County’s primary compost facility, Cedar Grove, does not accept pet waste, so this goes in the trash.
- Flush Puppies Doodie Bags: Flushing dog waste down the toilet is an option, but Seattle Public Utilities doesn’t specifically recommend it. These Polyvinyl Alcohol-based bags are designed to be flushed or composted, which makes them an alternative to petroleum-based plastic.
Feature photo: The author’s dog, Pippen, plays in the snow. Copyright Emeraldology 2019.
Hello Sam! Nice blog. Thanks for sharing information about environment-friendly dog poop bags. I and my friend are both dog owner so I would also like to share your useful blog with him. Keep posting.
Share away, thanks Shawn!
Is there a bug or bacteria that can eat the nasty pathogens out of the dog doodoo? That way composting would be less harmful to the watershed and salmon.
Thanks for the comment, Kelsi. There are composting systems specifically for dog waste. The most popular seems to be the Doggy Dooley, or a homemade setup like it.
The trick is getting the heat up to a level that would kill pathogens. These methods use septic starter to jumpstart the composting process.
I haven’t come across any bugs or bacteria that would do the job. I left this method off of the list because if the proper heat level isn’t attained, the pathogens stay alive and could theoretically be spread back into the environment.