You’re a pet owner looking for a poo bag that won’t harm the environment – you’re in the right place, but let’s delve a little further into the issue of plastic and why purchasing naturally biodegradable and home compostable poo bags are better for you and your fluffy friend.

The seriousness of '’degradable’’ products

Microplastic is everywhere and it's not just us who are saying so.   A recent study led by two PhD students in Arizona discovered microplastic in every one of 47 human organ samples examined. 47 samples from major organs of deceased human beings and they all contained traces of plastic. When plastic doesn’t or can’t degrade, it can so easily end up back in the products we use and eat.

Even though 47 samples might not seem like a large amount, this study – which was presented just last month, August 2020 – is a step towards recognising the sheer severity of the consequences of plastic waste. It also proves that our bodies can, in fact, hold onto microplastics. 

Understanding the terms...

COMPOSTABLE (and BIODEGRADABLE)

A product that breaks down completely into natural elements (no microplastics) with the help of natural bacteria and living organisms.  There are two different types of compostable: Suitable for HOME composting or INDUSTRIAL ONLY. Find out more …

OXO-DEGRADABLE - often labelled as DEGRADABLE and even FALSELY as ECO-FRIENDLY or BIODEGRADABLE

This type of product is normal plastic with a chemical additive.  This additive makes it fragment into microplastics.  Unfortunately it cannot break down at the molecular level like biodegradable and compostable plastics. It takes an extremely long time for these microplastics to then degrade in the environment fully. Oxo-degradable plastics have been completely banned in many countries as the research shows, that oxo-degradable (degradable) plastic is extremely harmful to the environment as the microplastics it produces contaminate our food chain, water and even our air!

 What can I do to help?

Start with the little things! Think about the products that you use frequently. Are they biodegradable/compostable? Can you recycle them? Even the freezer, food, and sandwich bags you use – are they just tossed away after a single use?

What about your doggy poo bags?

A huge number of these single-use plastic bags aren’t biodegradable and can’t be recycled because, well, they contain poop. That means that the only way around the issue of throwing away a couple of poo bags per day is to make sure that the ones you buy are CERTIFIED biodegradable/home compostable poop bags and will naturally degrade over time without causing any harm to the environment.

You have your standard poo bags and you’ve read the packaging. They aren’t compostable or biodegradable, and you need a solution. A lot of pet owners are easily tricked by promises of poo bags that biodegrade, whereas in truth these products are mostly just ordinary PE plastic with a chemical additive which only degrade into microplastics. So many companies are making false claims.  They just want pet owners to buy into an eco-friendly hype that promises much but delivers nothing.  The zero waste, zero plastic movement has been around for a while now, but you’ll need to do a little research to remain truly eco-friendly with so many unfriendly products out there.

Even products using the word “degradable” on their packaging means nothing at all. Everything eventually degrades, but it can take hundreds of years for plastic to fully degrade. Biodegradable poop baggies are where it’s at!

If you’re environmentally savvy and you care about the effects that plastic has on everything around us, your solution is compostable poo bags. These biodegradable baggies will decompose into their environment in a matter of months. They should be certified, particularly by the Home Compostable Certification, as these products don’t require high industrial temperatures to decompose.

If you want to ensure that the product you’re using will degrade properly and promptly – look for the EN 13432 code. This requires the compostable plastic product to disintegrate after 12 weeks and to completely biodegrade after a maximum of six months.

Poo bag products like The Green Poop Bag are OK TUV Home Compost, zero waste, zero plastic, EN 13432 certified, vegan, and entirely eco-friendly. You can’t go wrong with a Green Poop Bag in your pocket next time your dog needs to go walkies! 😉