Imagine trying to pick up dog poo without plastic bags. It can be messy, it can be awkward and it can be down right embarrassing, but it’s got to be done. On my quest to lesson our footprint on earth I’ve been researching a lot about plastic, our horrible overuse of it, and alternatives currently available. In an ideal world there would be an alternative to everything, but what I have found is they are often impractical. A bit like the current alternatives for picking up dog poo. I’ve used a sample, of a small poo box, but it didn’t quite cut it.
I have been really shocked by how much plastic is in our lives, how heavily we rely on it and how we often don’t question its use. Children’s toys, Tupperware, outdoor furniture, air conditioning units, garden tools, light switches. The list goes on, and on, and on. Just this morning an advert for surprise beanie boos came on the children’s channel. Little toys in a small plastic egg. What is the need to put it in a plastic egg? And what happens to the egg once it’s open? Waste, waste and more waste.
We’ve all seen the numerous videos of sea creatures whose stomachs are filled with plastic bags, the tropical islands inundated with plastic bottles and rubbish, the animals caught in fishing lines or land fill getting fuller and fuller with unnecessary waste. When does it stop? When do we all stand up and say, enough is enough. Why aren’t companies forced to find alternatives to plastic, more sustainable options or biodegradable options? I guess that’s for us to lobby governments to legislate for these changes, or we can just not buy those options. Both are much easier said than done.
So back to the dog poo bags. I already use old bread bags or fruit and veggie bags for picking it up, but I know they don’t break down any time soon. I had heard about biodegradable bags and figured there must be small ones available for this purpose. There are options, but I wanted to know more detail about how and when they break down. What difference would these bags make over my current choice? What other bags can I replace like bin liners and snap lock bags? Well it turns out, of course, it’s not so simple.
In brief, bio bags will only break down if they are composted in a proper home compost or a commercial composting facility. There are some facilities in Australia but they are few and far between. A detailed article about this can be found at 1millionwomen.com.au where I got these details. It focuses on rubbish bags, and the limited Eco friendly options available. So perhaps bio bags isn’t the way to go.
Here are some other ideas I found…
Newspaper or an old coffee cup
The next option I’ll consider is flushable poo bags. They are not really practical, but may work sometimes. Who knows what sort of community facility may be able to be set up to deal with this? I found a review about them. Hmmm…
Eco Fun Mum 